Tuning Your Skis or Snowboard – Pre-season and Post-season

It’s an exciting time for skiers and snowboarders. The season is just starting, so shred enthusiasts are dusting off their gear and praying for snow, us included.

There are a few items that should be on everyone’s checklist to get ready for the mountain. Plan your ski trips, get your lift tickets, make sure your boots fit, and choose the right skis or snowboard for your season.

One thing that many people might skip is to make sure to give your skis or snowboard a pre-season tune-up.

Some folks may think you need to be a serious racer or expert to warrant tuning your skis. But really, skiers and snowboarders of all abilities will benefit from tuning your set-up.

You can protect your gear and extend the life of your skis or snowboard with a little simple maintenance. Plus, if you are a more advanced skier or rider, you can maximize the performance and speed of your skis with a tune-up.

Your local ski and snowboard shop will have tuning services. Be ready to book early in the season to get your gear ready for opening days and any trips you have planned.

For our hands-on readers, you can do some ski tuning yourself. With a few tools, some wax, and some stuff you may already have around the house, you can optimize your gear and be ready to rock this season.

I’ll also share some advice for the best way to prep your skis or snowboard for the off-season so you can properly store your gear and avoid some dry-out issues you might get with your gear over the summer months.

Let’s dive into a practical how-to guide to gliding with a great tune.

Here’s What You’ll Need

• Edge Deburring Tuning Stone
• Ski/snowboard base brush (Brass and/or nylon)
• Hot Iron (An old clothing iron will work great)
• Ski Wax
• Scraper

Deburring Your Edges

Basically, burrs are tiny imperfections and build-up on your metal edges that come from normal skiing and snowboarding. Deburring your edges is essentially “cleaning” your edges.

Because your edges are so important, deburring your edges is an essential maintenance step, and it shouldn’t be limited to pre or post-season maintenance, rather, it’s something you should probably do after almost every time out on the slopes.

To deburr your edges, you’ll need a deburring stone, which is a basic flat stone. To deburr your edges, simply place the stone flat and flush against the side of your edge and gently slide the stone against your edge. You can slide the stone in both directions as the stone is unidirectional.

The side edge is the most important, but you can also deburr the bottom of your edges, just be careful not to scratch the base of your ski or snowboard.

Waxing Your Skis or Snowboard

Brush Your Ski or Snowboard Base

Before we get into waxing your skis or snowboard, it’s a good idea to use a brass or nylon brush to clean your base.

• Brush the base from the tip of your board or ski towards the tail. There are tiny hairs in the base, and they need to be brushed in the correct forward direction, from tip to tail.

Which Wax do You Use?

Now, let’s talk about what wax you should be using. Waxes come in different colors in accordance with the temperature of the snow you’ll likely be riding.

Green wax: 0°F to 14°F

Blue wax: 10°F  to 21°F

Purple wax: 18°F and 28°F

Red wax: 25°F and 39°F

Yellow wax: 32°F and 50°F

White wax: Universal

So, if you’ll be skiing on icy East Coast days, you’ll want green, blue, or purple wax, and if you’ll be skiing warm spring days in the West, you’ll want either red or yellow wax. Of course, a wax with universal white will work as well.

How to Wax Skis and Snowboards?

To do a full hot wax, you’ll need an iron. You can get an iron specifically for waxing skis and snowboards, or an old clothing iron will do the trick.

• Heat the iron to medium heat and gently push the bar of wax up against the iron.
• Drip a small amount of wax along the ski or snowboard base.
• Once you have a good drizzle of wax on the base, iron the wax into the base in a similar fashion to how you’d iron a shirt.
• Let the wax set into the base for about five minutes.
• Once the wax has dried, you’ll need a wax scraper.
• Scrape all of the excess wax off of the base. It can be a tedious process but you’ll want all of that extra wax scraped off, especially off of the edges.
• Once all of the excess wax is scraped off, it’s a good idea to give the bases another brush with a nylon brush to slick back those base hairs.

Quick Wax

You can also quickly wax your skis or snowboard with a rub-on quick wax. A quick wax won’t last as long as a full hot wax, but it’s still a good option for an easy wax that’ll still have you gliding smoothly.

Sharpening Your Edges

Filing your edges can be tricky, so it’s best to either leave it to a professional or really make sure you’re doing it properly. You can easily damage your edges by filing incorrectly.

To file your edges, you use a special file, using care to make sure that you’re filing your edges at a 90° angle. It makes sense to be apprehensive to take a file to your edges.

We recommend you can bring your skis or snowboard to a ski shop so they can run your boards through a Wintersteiger or similar machine to sharpen your edges and remove burrs with a highly-precise machine tune.

Prepping Your Skis or Snowboard for the Off-Season

So, you’ve had an awesome season, but unfortunately, the mountain is closing, and it’s time to put away your gear for the summer. Before you relinquish your beloved skis or snowboard to the closet, you should prep your skis for the off-season.

Simply hot wax your skis or snowboard, but don’t scrape off the excess wax. Letting your skis sit with a full wax on their bases will prevent your base(s) from drying out over the summer. When it’s time to start riding next season, scrape off the excess wax, give the bases a brush, and you’ll be ready to go!