Do it yourself ski service: grind ski edges & wax skis yourself!

Preparing the Ski Edges

Turn the ski base-side up in the ski holder and secure the brakes with a rubber band. Now clean the ski edge with:

• a sanding rubber for minor damage or rust
• an aluminum oxide stone for severe damage

Place your tool on the edge and carefully sand out any rust or damage. Now do the same on the side edge.

Next step: Remove the sidewall.

To work on the side edge, the white plastic groove on the sidewall must be removed. You can only sand the side edge if the white burr is removed with a sidewall planer. This is applied to the sidewall and excess material is removed in small, clean strokes.

Edge Sanding

Amateur skiers in recreational sports work with an angle of 88 degrees; sharper angles are reserved for racing. You can now choose between various sanding tools, which either have pre-set angles or require you to adjust them yourself. You can also use a simple aluminum angle with a file.

The file should always be angled and not parallel.

At an 88-degree angle, you now move along the edge of the entire ski in a working direction marked with an arrow on each file, using small, even strokes. Always grind from the beginning of the ski to the end. Any residue left during grinding is cleaned with a microfiber cloth.

A grinding burr has formed that needs to be removed. To do this, use the grinding rubber or a diamond again. Place the grinding rubber parallel to the base surface and pull it from front to back. If you have a diamond, moisten it and do the same.

Preparation

First, prepare the skis for waxing and clamp them into the ski holders with the base side facing up. Secure the ski brakes with a rubber band so they don't get in the way during waxing.

Before you start waxing your skis, you need to clean them. First, brush the base with a bronze brush and then apply base cleaner (wax remover). After letting it sit for a few minutes, rub the dirt off the base with absorbent paper. Then, briefly polish the base surface with a microfiber cloth.

Waxing Skis

There are different ways to apply ski wax; Andreas introduces you to the iron-on method here.

There are three different types of wax depending on the snow temperature:

• Yellow for warm snow
• Blue for icy snow
• Red wax for everything in between

To wax your skis properly, melt your preferred type of wax with a hot iron and apply it in a snaking pattern over the entire ski.

Then, glide the iron over the ski and iron the wax in thoroughly. The heat will deform the ski, so it's important to clamp the ski only at the front and back, not in the middle.

While the ski and wax are still warm, take the plastic scraper and first remove the wax from the edges. Then let the ski cool for a few hours.

Finishing

After the waiting time, the excess wax must be removed with the sharp plastic scraper.