COLD WEATHER ALERT FOR NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND

For the past ten days a lot of the training and racing has been on man-made snow or transformed snow. The temperatures have been above freezing and water and dirt has saturated the snow's surface; therefore the ski bases have to be thoroughly cleaned.

1. Brushing. Brush with a Swix oval steel brush (T192B/T1920) five to six strokes to remove oxidation and open the base structure from dirt and old wax.

2. Hot-scrape. Apply base prep 88, which is economical and has a blend of the highest quality paraffins and microcrystalline waxes. While in a molten state, scrape with a Plexiglas scraper. Examine the shavings of the wax. If dirty, repeat the process. Because of the recent dirty, polluted snow, I recommend hot-scraping three times. At this time I would brush the base again with the Swix oval steel brush (T179) to remove oxidation and open the base structure from dirt and old wax. Next, would use Fibertex aluminum oxide (#T266N). This is to remove any oxidation and dirt and to open the base.

Option 1 - base prep cold (BP77) Many technicians use this for cold weather when prepping race skis.

Option 2 - LF3 cold powder. (-10 C to -32 C) This is a very hard powder, having a high content of fluorocarbon material. LF is used when the snow is very fine-grained and very cold. LF3 is easy to iron and scrape. What is great about LF3 is that it helps base abrasion on cold, aggressive snow. Make sure you use a proper wax iron, such as the Swix T73 Performance iron. Note that the T71 digital iron is fantastic. This iron gives you perfect application every time. The iron has a 25mm thick plate, is 800 watts, 110 volts, and has a temperature range from 80 degrees C to 180 degrees C. The application temperature of LF3 is 150 degree C (300 degrees F). Sprinkle LF3 on the base of the ski, about 2 cm from the steel edge, to the middle of the base. Iron on the LF3 very carefully so that it melts into the base along the steel edge. Now do an application of LF6, which is -6 C to -12 C, as a base prep. LF6 will work with the LF3 to resist aggressive, cold, man-made snow. The LF6 application temperature is 140 degrees C. Drip the LF6 over the LF3 edge to edge, then proceed to iron the base very carefully and methodically. Allow the base of the ski to return to room temperature. The next step will be to scrape with a plastic scraper and brush with a medium, coarse brush, such as Swix #T179B or #T1790 steel brush or Swix #T162B/T1620 bronze brush ten to twelve strokes. Repeat this process two or three times with just LF6.

Following these procedures will prepare the bases for cold weather race waxing and you'll have fast skis.

Special recommendations. Please be careful out there and protect your skin against frostbite and windburn. Use Dermatone Skin Protector SPF 18 or SPF 23. Dermatone has been selected for use by the U.S. Marines at Camp Pendleton for winter warfare training. It’s 100% water-free. Have fun out there and best of luck. Murph, Swix/Uvex Alpine Race Rep

Steve Poulin, President of Swix/Uvex
Kevin Sweeney, Swix/Uvex Race Director
Bob Collins, Swix/Uvex New England Rep
Jed Rockwell, Swix/Uvex Race Rep
Andy Canniff, Swix/Uvex Marketing Dir.
Mike Wagner, Swix/Uvex Alpine Race Rep