How to Stone Grind Skis

Skis take lots of abuse throughout the season, often resulting in a base that is uneven and compromised. For the preseason tune-up, you have two choices; a simple quick tune, or the full crystal glide tune-up. The crystal glide tune-up restores the ski base to "showroom" condition and gives you another season of near-new performance. Achieving crystal glide tune-up is done with a stone grinder. This is a specialized machine that uses a calibrated series of stone wheels to grind down the base to an even and beveled sheen.

Things You'll Need

  • Acetone
  • Rags
  • Sandpaper
  • P-tex and P-tex heat gun
  • Ski bench grinder
  • Ski vise
  • Metal files
  • Safety goggles
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Instructions

    • 1

      Flip the skis over to expose the bases and place them on a work bench. Soak a rag in the acetone and thoroughly rub down the ski bases to remove last year's glide waxes. Wipe off the bases to dry them after the wax and residue is gone.

    • 2

      Sand down the ski bases with the sandpaper. Fill in any large holes, divots or gouges on the base with the heated P-tex. Smooth that down with the wax scraper, using it like a squeegee. Let the P-tex dry.

    • 3

      Turn the grinder on and adjust it according to your ski size and the grinder chart. Cross reference your ski's height to the bench grinder settings and adjust accordingly. Put on your goggles.

    • 4

      Insert the ski, tip up, into the grinder and let it run through the machine. Be ready on the opposite end to grip the tip as it comes out, and guide the ski out of the machine. Check the base and pass it through at least twice more.

    • 5

      File down any metal nibs or burrs on the edges of the ski to level them out with the base once they have gone through the grinder.