Wax history in the ski base

We know that the very surface of the UHMWPE ski base is created by crystalline, amorphous and transition regions. In crystalline regions no wax can penetrate, transition regions are insignificant with respect to the area, the only ski base fractions where wax can penetrate are amorphous regions.

Amorphous regions consist of disordered structure of PE molecular chains with free cavities which size is in the order of tens of nanometres. In these free cavities there is enough space for wax molecules to get in and get stuck after hot wax application.

If ski base is ironed by temperatures close or above the melting point of UHMWPE which is ca. 140 degrees C the molecular chains of UHMWPE become more flexible and the free spaces between the chains are more easily to be accessed by wax molecules. After the ski base has cooled down again, the molecular chains “freeze” again and wax molecules remain trapped in the nano-cavities.

After skiing wax removers and cleaning brushes are used. Current wax removers evaporate very slowly which means their molecules are larger and heavier than those which were used in the past. They can access the cavities and dissolve the wax, however, they cannot remove the mixture out of the cavities.

Brushes are too coarse to reach the cavities. Some amount of wax - dissolved by removers - will remain in the cavities. After wax removers evaporate, solid wax remains in the cavities. This wax will stay here, until new wax is applied and mixed with the wax history in the ski base.