Your complete DIY ski servicing guide
Servicing and maintaining your own skis is a useful skill. Especially if you’re a regular skier, knowing how to wax and sharpen your own skis can save you money compared to using a ski shop every time your skis need a bit of TLC.
What are the Benefits of Servicing Skis?
Here’s some of the top reasons why you should have your skis serviced:
- Improves speed
- Improves handling/turning ability
- Better grip reduces risk of falls/injury
- Keeps your skis in good condition, extending lifespan
When Should Skis be Serviced?
Skis should be serviced ahead of every season and at the end of every season before storing your skis for summer. It’s also a good idea to service your skis if they’ve been scratched or damaged on the slope, and to service regularly throughout the season, particularly if the weather conditions are challenging. As soon as you start noticing signs of wear and tear, it’s a good idea to service your skis.
If you’re a new skier, you might think brand new skis should be ready to use, but new skis often come with dirt from the factory. For your first service with a new pair of skis, it’s a good idea to have a professional perform an extensive cleaning and service to ensure your new skis are ready for you to hit the slopes.
Should I Service My Own Skis?
Knowing how to service your own skis can be a useful skill – after a small initial investment into tools and equipment, servicing your own skis can save you money long terms, especially if you’re a regular skier. You don’t need to know absolutely everything or own any fancy tools like belt sanders. All you need is some simple handheld tools and a bit of elbow grease!
It’s still a good idea to get your skis serviced by a professional a few times a year, especially at the start and the end of the season. Think of it a bit like a car: you can work on your car for yourself, but you also need a yearly MOT with a professional mechanic.
In this guide, we’ll tell you how to clean, wax, and sharpen your own skis! If you’re a novice servicing your skis for the first time or an experienced pro who just needs a refresher, this guide along with our Ski Servicing 101 video series will teach you all you need to know.
Before we can get into that though, here’s a general list of some tools you’ll need, all of which are available on our online shop! Our recommendations are based on the professional ski servicing tools we use at our own shop when performing services.
Ski Servicing Equipment Shopping List:
- Ski Servicing Workbench (or suitable surface) – we recommend the Kunzmann Service Bench for people who have a dedicated space to work on and store their skis. For on the go, you might want to try the Cook Ski Bervice Bench, which has removable legs for storage and travel.
- Vice Clips – these keep your skis from moving during the service. We recommend the Snoli Pro Ski Vice for the adjustable height.
- Handheld Base Brushes – you’ll need a series of base brushes of varying hardness. We recommend the bronze brush and the steel brush by HWK for cleaning, and their matching horsehair and nylon brushes for polishing.
- Scrapers – a simple plastic scraper is versatile, budget friendly, and durable
- Wax Iron – a wax iron is different from a household iron, as specialist ski servicing irons have been specifically designed to create a smooth surface. We recommend the Kunzmann 5200 digital ski waxer as it works best with temperature sensitive racing waxes and comes with a UK to European adapter, making it great for travel and home.
- Set of Files – files are used for tuning the skis and sharpening the edge. If you’re a beginner, you can’t go wrong with the Snoli racing file pack which contains all three files you’ll need, saving you 10% compared to purchasing each file individually. You may also need a diamond file if you’re planning on Alpine or indoor skiing. We recommend the MoonFlex Diamond files.
- File Guide – this stops you from cutting too much off the edge and allows you to get the right angle. What file guide you need will depend on the type of skiing you do.
- Brake Retainer – these keep your brakes in the correct position, preventing damage when you work. We sell brake retainer bands in a pack of 10.
- Microfibre Cloth – a lint-free microfiber cloth is used for wiping dirt and debris off your skis.
- Wax Remover – wax remover is useful for cleaning wax off your tools, prolonging the life of your investment by keeping your ski servicing tools clean. We use Toko wax remover.
- Servicing Tape – taping up the sidewalls of your skis helps keep wax only on the base, making clean up easier.
- Ski Wax – there’s several types of ski wax, which one you need will depend on the type of skiing you do and the snow conditions. If you’re not sure, we recommend using an all-round wax such as the HWK A1 Allround
Hot wax scarping is a method of cleaning skis using a soft wax to clean out any dirt. This is especially useful for new skis that may have factory dirt embedded in the base.
Tools we use for hot wax scraping:
- Toko soft wax
- Wax iron
- HWK bronze brush
- Microfiber cloth
- Plastic scraper
- Toko wax remover
- HWK servicing tape (optional)
How to hot wax scrape skis:
(Optional) – Prepare your skis by applying HWK servicing tape to the binding and plate area to keep the hot wax from dripping on areas other than the base.
Step 1 – Secure your ski in your vice on your work area. Preheat your wax iron to the temperature specified on the packaging of your wax bar and leave it on a heatproof surface where there is no risk of burning yourself or starting a fire.
Step 2 – Use a hard brush such as the HWK bronze brush to sweep the base free of debris. For extra deep cleaning, follow with the HWK steel brush. Wipe off any dirt your brushes have lifted with a microfiber cloth.
Step 3 – Loosen the middle vice to allow your ski to move freely. Using your wax iron, heat the Toco soft wax by pressing it to the bottom of the iron and let it drip generously across the length of the base.
Step 4 – Smooth the wax out over the base of the ski. Do not leave the iron on any one part of the base as this will cause wax bubbling and may damage your ski.
Step 5 – Tighten the middle clamp again to secure your ski once more. Whilst the wax is still hot, use a plastic scraper to strip the hot wax off the ski base along with any dirt. The wax may come out grey and dirty looking – this is all the dirt that was on your skis!
Step 6 – Allow the ski to cool for 10-15 minutes. Once the ski is cooled, brush the base clean using your HWK hard brushes. Wipe away any remaining debris with a microfiber cloth.
Step 7 – Repeat steps 3-6 until the wax comes away clean and white. Your skis will be clean!
Hot wax scrape your skis with Olly in this follow along video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9tYaxYUfmI
Waxing skis protects the base from scratches. It also improves handling and speed by reducing friction on the snow. Properly waxed skis will handle better, improving your skiing experience and making you safer on the slopes. Waxing your skis yourself is quick and easy – the first few steps are very similar to cleaning your skis. With a little practice, it shouldn’t take you very long.
Tools we use to wax skis:
Suitable ski wax for your snow conditions – we recommend using HWK A1 Allround wax for most snow conditions or the HWK SP7 Polar wax for indoor slopes.
- Wax iron
- HWK bronze brush
- HWK nylon brush
- Microfiber cloth
- Plastic scraper
- Toko wax remover
- HWK servicing tape (optional)
How to wax skis:
(Optional) – Prepare your skis by applying HWK servicing tape to the binding and plate area to keep the hot wax from dripping on areas other than the base.
Step 1 – Secure your ski in your vice on your work area. Preheat your wax iron to the temperature specified on the packaging of your wax bar and leave it on a heatproof surface where there is no risk of burning yourself or starting a fire.
Step 2 – Using a hard bronze brush, clean the base of debris. For an extra deep clean you can also use the HWK steel brush. Next, wipe off any dust and dirt with a soft microfiber cloth.
Step 3 – Loosen the middle vice to allow your ski to move freely. Using your hot wax iron, melt your chosen ski wax and allow it to drip generously over your ski base.
Step 4 – Smooth the wax with your wax iron. Work in gentle back and forth motions one section at a time. Never leave the iron in one place for too long as this will cause bubbling and may damage your skis. Next, use a plastic scraper to clean excess wax from the edges of the skis whilst the wax is still warm.
Step 5 – Leave your skis to cool for at least an hour, letting the wax soak into the base. Once your skis are cooled, secure the middle vice again and scrape the excess wax from the base. This may take a few passes.
Step 6 – Using the hard bronze brush, clear out any excess wax you couldn’t remove with a scraper. Use short sweeping motions.
Step 7 – Polish the ski base with a soft nylon brush. For an extra shine, start with a medium horsehair brush before moving to the nylon brush. This step is what makes your skis super fast! Wipe away any excess wax with a microfiber cloth, and you’re ready to go!
Wax your skis with Olly in this follow along video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sFSFxGac_A&t=1s
Sharpening the edges of your skis is important to improve grip when turning. Not only does this make it easier to manoeuvre, but it also makes you safer by offering better control. This is especially important in challenging conditions.
Tools we use to sharpen ski edges:
- Protective gloves
- Snoli racing file
- File guide (use either an 88 or 87 based on your needs)
- MoonFlex diamond files (100, 200, and 400 grit)
- Brake retainer
- Gummi stone
Note: Our Snoli file set comes in 3 cuts: cut 0 is the coarsest and should only be used on skis that are very worn and need a lot of work. In most cases, you should only need to use cut 1 (a medium coarseness) or cut 2 (a fine file).
How to sharpen skis:
(Optional) – Prepare your skis by applying HWK servicing tape to the base to avoid causing damage with the file – especially if you’ve just gone to all the effort of waxing your skis!
Step 1 – Fasten off your brake with a brake retainer band. Next, secure your skis with the edge facing upwards in the vice.
Step 2 – Place your file in the file guide. Ensure it is facing the right way. The file teeth should align with the direction of the stroke – files only cut in one direction and should be pulled towards you for greater control.
Step 3 – Position the file guide and file against the edge with the guide pressed flat against the base. Pull towards you, working to the front of the ski using short, even, overlapping strokes. You should only pull in one direction, do not rub the file against the ski. Do not put too much pressure as this will affect the angle – let the file do the work instead.
Step 4 – Switch to the diamond files and work though the files from the coarsest to the finest, repeating steps 2 and 3 with each new file. You can use the Snoli files for this step if you prefer – it’s entirely down to personal preference and how you feel the ski performs. Though we prefer the diamond files for a more polished edge, you should try both and see what works for you.
Step 5 – Carefully feel the edge with your fingernail to check for a lip. This lip is fine if you are dry slope skiing, but if you are alpine skiing you will need to remove it. Using a 400-grit diamond file, work in a single long stroke towards the tail of the ski.
Step 6 – Feed in the tip and tail with a gummi stone. Your skis are fully tuned!
Sharpen your ski edge with Olly in this follow along video:
Servicing your skis yourself is easy and shouldn’t take you too long with a little bit of practice. You don’t need any expensive electric tools, just a bit of elbow grease and some handheld tools. For repairs or more extensive start and end of season servicing, it’s better to see a professional ski shop as professional shops often have access to dedicated tools to make the process more accurate.
You can book your ski service at our specialist ski shop in Sheffield.