Use of Vauhti Scrapers and Brushes

Scraping

Scraping, in addition to brushing, is an essential part of waxing skis; therefore a few words about scraping.

The plastic (”organic glass”) used in acrylic scrapers is extremely hard. Therefore a new unused scraper is nearly as sharp as a knife. If you scrape soft waxes or hard waxes, when they are still warm and soft, you can in the worst case remove almost all the wax from the ski base, if your scraper is too sharp.

When you scrape soft waxes (violet and softer waxes or hard waxes, when they are still warm) use a relatively dull scraper. Round off and dull one long edge of the scraper with fine sandpaper as well as the rounded corner used for scraping the groove. Therefore, using the ”rounded” edge, you can safely scrape soft waxes and hard waxes when they are still warm. This way, wax is removed from the surface of the ski base and not from the inside of the base.

Otherwise, start scraping the soft waxes, when the base has cooled down completely. Start scraping the hard waxes (green, hard graphites or molybden waxes), when the base feels still warm to the touch, but shows no areas of melted wax left. Use a dull scraper and light pressure. Scrape the entire base swiftly to remove most of the wax. When there is still a visible layer of wax, you have done the first phase of scraping. At this point, lightly use the nylon brush on the base.

Start the second phase of scraping when the base has cooled down to room temperature. Use a sharp acrylic scraper. Carefully remove all visible wax. Use light pressure as the sharp scraper cuts easily through the hardest wax. If the wax cracks and fractures, you have left too much wax on the base after the first scraping. If this happens, simply re-warm the base slightly and continue to scrape. Finish by brushing the glide surfaces very carefully with the coarse nylon brush.

Brushes and Brushing

Brass Brush:

A very soft Vauhti brass brush can be used in every phase of waxing. Before glide waxing, it is easy to remove impurities and restore the porosity of the base with brass brushing. This also improves adherence of glide waxes to the base. You can finish the application of hard glide waxes in cold waxing conditions with a few strokes of the brass brush.

Brass brushing does not replace the use of the nylon brush; but rather, increases and improves the effectiveness of brushing. Frequent use of graphite or molybden glide waxes requires occasional brass brushing to restore the porosity of the base.

Nylon Brush:

The nylon brush is the basic waxing tool. Always finish the waxing with the nylon brush: when the snow is dry and fluffy, there is loose snow on the track, the snow is grainy, etc. Thorough nylon brushing hardens and polishes the wax and the ski base. It tunes up the skis and makes them more sensitive and more responsive in slow speeds. A well used and cleaned nylon brush works well when brushing powders. Choose the hardest possible nylon brush for hard waxes so as to remove all the excessive wax from the ski base.

You cannot remove wax, especially hard glide wax, well enough with the nylon brush. One of the most common mistakes in waxing is inadequate nylon brushing. Always check the ski base after nylon brushing holding the base against the light.  If the base is not shiny all over and there are separate shiny spots, continue to brush until the base structure is completely visible.

Powder Brush:

The Vauhti powder brush is made of horsehair. Despite its soft feel, the brush is very effective in removing waxes or powders. It leaves an unpolished, dull surface. It effectively cleans the base structure of the ski.

The powder brush is an excellent tool for cleaning the base structure, but it has to be used carefully and only on a completely cooled ski base. Excessive horsehair brushing can damage the wax job. We recommend powder brushing for finishing the waxing in wet conditions, in sleet and in mild sub-zero conditions when the humidity is high, and there is the need to get the maximum amount of air between the ski and the track. Powder brushing may reduce the skis sensitivity and responsiveness in slower speeds, but it will improve the performance of the skis in higher speeds.

Finishing Brush:

The Vauhti finishing brush has brass bristles in the middle and soft horsehair bristles on the outside. It is used for the very final brushing of hard gliders and additives especially in dry cold conditions, when the fine stone-grinding pattern must be completely exposed. Do the final brushing outside, when the ski base and the wax have completely cooled down.