Ski Builders Forum

I'm getting ready to press my next pair of skis and was wondering, what do you guys do to prevent epoxy from sticking to the base during pressing? The guy I've got doing my tuning was telling me that grinding it off is a lot of work so I'm hoping to make things easier for him. Getting my own tuning machine is out of reach at the moment financially. I try to belt sand the epoxy off as much as I can before turning it over to him but it's hard and time consuming to remove.

I was thinking maybe applying some mold release to the base of the skis before layup so the epoxy comes off easier? maybe there's a way to seal the base to the cassette? a specific kind of tape that works well for you that you apply to the base before pressing and then rip the tape off?

Thanks!

You can put a self adhesive protection foil on it. Your skiman could also start with 80 or 60 grid

mammuth thats just what I was thinking. It sounds like he may not have coarse belts. 80grit will knock down the epoxy real fast. It cuts just as easy as UHMW (base) if not easier.

You could probably get away with a mold release on the base but I wouldn't risk it. I did use some Contact shelf liner once but it took just as long to apply and cut as it does for me to grind the epoxy off. I also try to keep the excess epoxy to a minimum and also use spray adhesive on the base on top of parchment paper which helps keep the epoxy out of the picture.

I know its hard to be choosy when you are getting grinds for free/beer but a fresh aggro belt works wonders. I usually just hand feed a couple passes with only the weight of the ski to start and that will take most of it off.

Ok thanks for the suggestions!

I rub my base with a ski wax paste before pressing (if I don't forget). Drawback is that it warps the base upward a bit (because the wax swells the base) and... be careful, stay a bit away from the edges.

I remove the epoxy with a paint scraper (the type that you pull) before grinding (also if I did not use wax).

My 2 cents, I use wax normal wood wax for forniture as mould release, both on mould than on ptex, it come out pretty clean.