Date: 16 Feb 2005      From: Sierra Nordic

This is often not a sign of "oxidized" bases but rather too much wax left on the surface of the ski. Even if the wax is thoroughly scraped, brushed and polished from the base after waxing, if this is done at room temperature there could still be a residual layer of wax film on the glide surfaces when the skis cool to snow temperature.

When bases cool, they contract (shrink) and the wax in the pores of the base is squeezed to the surface. For the fastest gliding skis, especially when skiing in cold conditions (below say -10°C), it is critical to put the skis outside for 30 minutes or so and let the skis get really cold. Return the skis indoors (wax room) and immediately re-scrape, brush, and polish. Some moisture may condense on the surface (beer can effect) if the room has normal to high humidity. Just polish out the skis and any moisture will help give the bases a good "spit shine". Not a problem, dude.

If a white film appears on the surface of the bases after skiing, especially if the snow was colder for part of the day, just re-brush and polish and the skis are good to go again. There is no need to re-wax. The skis should be faster on the second day if the conditions are the same (wax choice correct). This layer of surface wax will easily buff out and should not be confused with the gray dry-look of un-waxed or poorly waxed skis. If the "white look" reappears after the brushing and skiing the second day, then the bases are probably gray (needing re-waxing and perhaps a base prep) and not white (needing the wax re-buffed).

Date: 17 Feb 2005      From: Al Siemens

The white appears after using many layers of extremely cold (plastic) waxes. The pores are so saturated with this wax which is a very hard & cold wax, that as soon as the ski cools and the base contracts the wax is pushed out of the base. Set the skis out only after scraping and brushing has been done. The best brush for brushing cold bases is the Toko copper brush not the nylon brush. The copper is much finer and can get into the fine structure better. (You will notice that the residue brushed out looks much smaller in partial size than from the nylon brush.) This is because the fine hairs on this brush fit into the fine structure of the ski better. This brush will not add structure to the base as a stiff brass brush would. When the base looks white it's easy to tell the difference between a base that has tons of cold wax permeated in it or an oxidized base; run your finger nail over it and if the base turns black it's not oxidized but rather has lots of cold wax in the base.

Date: 17 Feb 2005      From: Rich Pettit

If you just have waxed your skis and they turn white, then maybe Sierra Nordic's explanation is correct. However for most of us, white bases are from having the wax wear off the skis. It is correct to say that they are not oxidized because this cannot happen to a polyethylene surface (so I am told by the science community). But when your base has lots of wax in the pores, it will darken in colour (even clear bases will look different with wax and without). Most times when our bases go white is at the heal and back. This is the big wear zone (this is why you do not want to grip wax behind the heal even though it seems like the wax pocket goes beyond the heal). 

As for the other stuff about cooling your skis and then scraping again. If it has been shown to be better to heat the cold waxes then scrape (or scrape before they really cool down), putting them outside will help in removing the wax but tends to squeeze too much out of the crystalline structure and therefore decreases the durability of the wax job. Another interesting thing is that a hot ski glides faster than a cold ski. You can even buy heated ski bags so that your skis will stay warm right until the moment you race. In my last years working with the National team we were experimenting lots with this concept.

   This page was last updated on February 23, 2005