Tuning skis for a race
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Continued from Ski Tuning for Racers, where we settled into a regular maintenance routine for training. Now we're just before race day...
Tune for a race
It is the same procedure for tuning for a training day, I don't overdoit... Yet... Just some minor enhancements.
First thing is to take care of the top-sheet. This is something you could do in your weekly routine, but a smooth top sheet is important especially when racing. Take a file to it and then some sandpaper and make sure the edges of the top sheet are smooth and round - kids will usually roughen that up when banging the skis into each-other. File and sandpaper of 100 and 150, that's what I normally use.
This is important because the kidz will manage to lay over the skis so much that the top edges and maybe some of the top sheet will be dragging in the snow, so you want them as smooth as possible. Also, if they do get the skis together again, a smooth topsheet may let them slide and not snag.
This video will give you an idea of what we're talking about: youtu.be/bJD3mUywmLc.
For the edges, regardless of their state, I start with a fine chrome file: two light passes on the side and then finish with diamond stones: 200, 400, 600. The idea is that just the diamond stones won't make a sharp enough edge - if it's rounded, they simply do not remove enough material to make it sharp and, for a race, you want it as sharp as you can get it.
I quickly touch the base side of it with a 400 diamond stone, to remove the burrs from the file and polishing it.
Effective
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For wax, it is fluorinated wax time and they are usually more temperature range specific than the training wax, so do your homework, see Choosing Ski Wax.
Also, for fluorinated waxes, I have a dedicated set of brushes. You don't know how many warmup runs there will be before the race, so I make sure to remove all the wax and work it to a fine polish with a soft horsehair brush. I memtion this be because usually, for training, you'll just let the first runs do the fine polish...
As to wax selection, there are soo many out there. I normally use a medium expensive fluoro to iron in and then the more expensive stuff to rub on and fine polish... It's too expensive to iron that in as well. You cold use the simple system or a more complex race wax system.
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