skatha Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 You guys may laugh when I call Houston "Helltown", but my local ski shop is out of the base cleaner I use-Swix....and I'm not finding it on the 'net. Anybody have any alternatives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Yup. Avoid base cleaner entirely if you can as it can dry out the ptex. Hot scrape a few times instead and you'll clean and protect the base at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 what nekdut said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjl Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 I only use base cleaner to clean wax off my iron, my scraper, etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 Ironically, base cleaner is great for the topsheet! :p Dirt, wax particles or drippings, stickers. They all come off easily with citrus base cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted March 14, 2006 Report Share Posted March 14, 2006 I use plain old parafin wax for cleaning and summer storage - it's cheap, readily available and easy to work with. Next fall, warm scrap then apply a couple of coats of your regular wax. For cleaning my scrapers, I use Kingsford lighter fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 I'm curious what others think re: base cleaner. The maint. video I have from tognar recommends it, as do a few knowledgable folks I know. Nek and others don't. what's the deal? ps why do you call houston "helltown?" good friend lives in "h town" and loves it. we do make fun of him a lot though -) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Well I think citrus base cleaner does have its place: stripping all wax before a base grind or any situation where you need to remove all wax from a base. However the main conern is overdoing it and damaging your base in the process. I know I killed the ptex on two boards from my use of base cleaner. I had no idea what I was doing and really layed it on thick, left it on there for a while, and scrubbed real hard to get all of the dirt/wax out. Quite a dumb thing to do. It dried out the base and did not allow for wax to properly absorb into the ptex after that. If you are very careful, you could probably get away with using base cleaner on your ptex to do some cleaning, but very sparingly of course. It seems too easy to overdo it and do some damage. My opinion is that it would just be easier and safer to just hotscrape instead of worring about damaging your base with harsh chemicals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTA2R Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 so you did you totally ruin those boards, make them unrideable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekdut Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Barry, A base grind took care of the problem, but before that the ptex refused to absorb wax. Even though a I gave the board a good wax/scrape, the base would look dried out and oxidized after one run. So in the hands of a dumbass like myself, base cleaner can be a bad thing. I'm sure it has its place in a tuning pro's toolset, it just has to be utilized properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 I used citrus cleaner/simple green on the topsheet. The swix stuff I used was also citrus based, but tougher on the greasy stuff than my orange/citrus cleaner I use at home.... And I don't leave it on..... And I followup with a wax, either a regular coat for the next trip or a spring coat..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 And I call Houston "Helltown" because it's hot, humid and flat...... I'm like an apple tree, I need a certain number of days in subfreezing temps or I just don't thrive well..... Fortunately, my neighborhood is flush with loblolly pine or I'd truly go crazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfell Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Dont use base cleaner, it is super bad for your base. Ask ANY knowledgable wax tech. Go get some Dominator base prep wax and use that to hot scrape with. Base cleaner will strip you base totally of wax. Simply waxing after you use it isn't enough. It takes many, many, many waxing to totally saturate your base, and you will wipe the slate clean with one use of base cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paappraiser Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 naptha works amazingly great for getting wax off your scraper and iron. use at your own risk... its nasty . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dragon fly jones Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Phil nails it once again - a soft wax is to be used, warm scrape, I usually do it twice and then start over again with several levels of wax on the freshly prepped base. It does take time and your all fumed up so use a breathing filter mask and hop to it. Your board will love you and the bonus is that it will glide faster, yes faster longer and in the long run perform to expectation with just a little extra love. Treat it like you would treat your number one woman, car, motorcycle, bike or your mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Even as a purely recreational rider I've found the warm scrape method worthwhile. I do a lot of spring riding which means a lot of dirt in the base, and hot scraping is how I keep 'em running nice. I've been using SVST yellow Ultra-Wax that's their 36-50* flavor of their "cheap" wax ($10 for 10 ounces). After warm scraping, I do a couple of layers of "normal" application with the same wax, and then one application with a nmnore "normal" temp wax. The warm-temp stuff seems to hold up nicely underneaththe "normal" temp stuff. Ask any of the skiers who I pass on the runouts :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Morales Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 My new Virus with no wax base is FAST I wish all my boards had it. I don't know how long it will last or how easy it will be to maintain time will tell.Does anybody know why more companys aren't using it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugger Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 My new Virus with no wax base is FAST I wish all my boards had it.I don't know how long it will last or how easy it will be to maintain time will tell.Does anybody know why more companys aren't using it? COST :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Morales Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 How many people are willing to pay the extra cost? Its sure nice not dealing with wax.I like tuning my own boards after having shop monkeys almost destroy some of my favorite sticks there aren't to many places I trust besides PTC but thats a long way from home. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugger Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 How many people are willing to pay the extra cost?Its sure nice not dealing with wax.I like tuning my own boards after having shop monkeys almost destroy some of my favorite sticks there aren't to many places I trust besides PTC but thats a long way from home. Frank Try Alpine Base and Edge in Boulder CO is much closer 303-887-8762 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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