How to Degrease Your Skis

Skis, snowboard and anything else you might use to ride down a snowy mountain slope will tend to slide better when they are cleaned and waxed. To apply a fresh layer of wax it is best to first clean off any remaining wax, as well as any dirt or debris that has become lodged in the base of your skis. Once the skis have been properly cleaned you can then apply a fresh layer of wax and enjoy a ride on the slopes.

Things You'll Need

  • Base cleaner
  • Plastic scraper
  • Rag
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Instructions

  1. Scrapping

    • 1

      Place your skis with the bases up on a flat surface where you can work on them.

    • 2

      Apply even, constant pressure, and run the scraper down the length of both skis several times, cleaning off any dirt and old wax that is scraped off after each pass.

    • 3

      Keep scraping until the scraper is removing little or no dirt and old wax from the surface of the skis. You may now want to apply a chemical base cleaner to remove any lingering old wax and dirt.

    Chemicals

    • 4

      Turn the skis upside down, so the bases are facing up, on a level surface where you can work on them.

    • 5

      Apply the base cleaner, which is typically a liquid, to the base of your skis. Many base cleaners will come in a spray bottle, but if yours does not, a rag will do for application. Follow the directions of your particular product in the finer points of how this should be done. If you do not mind the possibility of damaging your ski bases, you can use the kind of citrus degreaser commonly found in hardware stores for this purpose, rather than a specialized ski product.

    • 6

      Wipe the cleaning product residue, along with the dirt and old wax it loosened up, from the base of your skis. Many base cleaners come with a cloth for such a purpose, but a rag will do the job too.