The Wax and Tune Ya Goon Thread

[C.Fuzzy]

Sometimes I hear grenny say something in a way that's too perfectly mapped with something peeps here were just talking about and I'm left just wondering if he lurks. Even accounting for that we're all just talking snowboards.

[jota]

I just tested the €16 1200w IR
just a test. for fun. without pretensions
and I want to share my conclusions and ask you what you think about them?

Just like @supra at first I thought it was a great advance. Now I have my doubts after the test. I like the waxing process as well as @fuzzy but test is a part that I also enjoy. If I jump into the river, the mountain flow seems fine to me, but for testing I can't go beyond a €16 IR...

1/ With the iron when you apply wax, you generate a certain downward pressure that “could”??? help the wax adhere to the base or get into the pore? I don't know if this is technically the case but that's the feeling it gives me. With IR this does not happen and the sensation is that the wax stays on the surface since there is no downward pressure.

2/ IR melts the wax. But in some areas the wax dried the same as with the iron when it lost heat and in others it remained wet... for a long time but you put your finguer over and it doesn’t burn


3/ The feeling that the melted wax gives me in my hand is like more “rubber”. And not so “wax” like with the iron. It was something curious. But i don’t know if it’s ok or wrong. Perhaps it happend for the temperature ..

4/ then you brush it and you're done and ready to ride

[unsatisfiedus]

thanks! was that a single board you’ve done so far or have you had time to work on the technique? @pwd_hnd mentioned it taking a couple boards to get it down.

i haven’t managed to get the coverage i want with the crayon/iron technique without ending up with some amount of scraping. i tune inside so eliminating the scraping part would be the biggest draw, followed by time savings, and third money savings.

point 2 is interesting!

[C.Fuzzy]

2/ IR melts the wax. But in some areas the wax dried the same as with the iron when it lost heat and in others it remained wet... for a long time but you put your finguer over and it doesn’t burn


3/ The feeling that the melted wax gives me in my hand is like more “rubber”. And not so “wax” like with the iron. It was something curious. But i don’t know if it’s ok or wrong. Perhaps it happend for the temperature ..

#2. in my mind it's not wax but something else like a solvent. A residual base cleaner? oil or alcohol in the wax that separated?

According to someone on this thread ( https://www.skitalk.com/threads/infrared-waxer.25968/) : Be aware that waxes with particulate additives (like graphite or moly base prep) may not work well with those

Also it looks like WEND (and probly other wax co's) make specific infrared waxes : (https://snow.wendperformance.com/mf-inf ... mance-wax/)

" heat and infrared are not the same. Heat is a form of energy transfer that occurs due to temperature differences between objects or substances, while infrared is a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than visible light but shorter than microwaves"

"Infrared Heat covers the whole spectrum of radiated heat (ranging from the very intense heat from a light bulb at 4700°F to heat you’d feel from a glowing coal at 1100°F, to a rock, warmed to 68°F by the sun), 3 correspondingly very different categories of Infrared have been defined, exactly fitting the above examples. These are “Near” Infrared (Also called Shortwave or IR-A); “Medium” Infrared (also called Middlewave or IR-B) and “Far” Infrared (also called “Longwave” or IR-C)"

So, also we don't really know what range of waves your unit is putting out. How it may differ from the higher power waxing units. Or any of the other variables such as wax types and additives, may play in.

[tracer]

Sidebar on the above: I have been using Wend wax ("universal/all temp") pretty much exclusively the last 5 or so years and it has been very good to me. "Always ahead of my pals" etc etc

Also, I wax with an iron and waxing papers. The scraping is minimal cause the paper soaks up most of it.

Remember: there are no pores. The point of waxing is the same as why ladies… do… that… no wait! The wax keeps the "hairs"—base material shredded up into fuzz which is what slows ya down—up while you "shave" them off with yer sharp (always keep it sharp boys!) scraper.

/out

[eleveneightnate]

I have been using Wend wax ("universal/all temp") pretty much exclusively the last 5 or so years and it has been very good to me.

Speaking of Wend, not only do they claim to make an IR specific wax, but look at this crazy robotic IR waxing rig:

[coleslawed]

I have been using Wend wax ("universal/all temp") pretty much exclusively the last 5 or so years and it has been very good to me.

Speaking of Wend, not only do they claim to make an IR specific wax, but look at this crazy robotic IR waxing rig:

looks like their “IR” waxes might just be tad softer than regular bricks for easier crayon-action? but not quite paste wax still.

also, the machine there is what the Mountainflow handheld unit is trying to bring to the home-wax scene, or even smaller shops. that rig is probably $10k+

[iliveatblkdmnd]

Has anyone tried DPS Phantom Waxless Glide? It sells itself as a permanent, no-wax needed solution that permanently bonds to the base. It sounds too good to be true, so does it actually work? And if so, do you still need to wax?

[jota]

I have been using Wend wax ("universal/all temp") pretty much exclusively the last 5 or so years and it has been very good to me.

Speaking of Wend, not only do they claim to make an IR specific wax, but look at this crazy robotic IR waxing rig:

looks like their “IR” waxes might just be tad softer than regular bricks for easier crayon-action? but not quite paste wax still.

also, the machine there is what the Mountainflow handheld unit is trying to bring to the home-wax scene, or even smaller shops. that rig is probably $10k+

And for me this is where the real advantage of the IR is: rental shop with 200 boards or skis to wax. With the iron it's crazy. IR allows you to do a lot of work in a short time

Another thing is different: EL riders individually looking for better experiences… and enjoying the process….

[jota]

2/ IR melts the wax. But in some areas the wax dried the same as with the iron when it lost heat and in others it remained wet... for a long time but you put your finguer over and it doesn’t burn


3/ The feeling that the melted wax gives me in my hand is like more “rubber”. And not so “wax” like with the iron. It was something curious. But i don’t know if it’s ok or wrong. Perhaps it happend for the temperature ..

#2. in my mind it's not wax but something else like a solvent. A residual base cleaner? oil or alcohol in the wax that separated?


According to someone on this thread ( https://www.skitalk.com/threads/infrared-waxer.25968/) : Be aware that waxes with particulate additives (like graphite or moly base prep) may not work well with those

Also it looks like WEND (and probly other wax co's) make specific infrared waxes : (https://snow.wendperformance.com/mf-inf ... mance-wax/)

" heat and infrared are not the same. Heat is a form of energy transfer that occurs due to temperature differences between objects or substances, while infrared is a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths longer than visible light but shorter than microwaves"

"Infrared Heat covers the whole spectrum of radiated heat (ranging from the very intense heat from a light bulb at 4700°F to heat you’d feel from a glowing coal at 1100°F, to a rock, warmed to 68°F by the sun), 3 correspondingly very different categories of Infrared have been defined, exactly fitting the above examples. These are “Near” Infrared (Also called Shortwave or IR-A); “Medium” Infrared (also called Middlewave or IR-B) and “Far” Infrared (also called “Longwave” or IR-C)"

So, also we don't really know what range of waves your unit is putting out. How it may differ from the higher power waxing units. Or any of the other variables such as wax types and additives, may play in.

It’s wax with fluoride. but what appeared was a large stain. but only one in the entire table. the size of the base of a binding... a shame not to take a photo...

I agree about it’s not the same heat and infrared and don’t know the range of waves of my IR. But it’s a 16€ IR. I'm not saying that an IR of €16 can be an alternative to anything... Only to test the process without spend money… For example, I found it different to melt wax on the board with IR and press it and distribute it with the iron... things like that... I wonder if that is what makes boards waxed with IR lose the wax sooner as @Supra said he saw on other forums...