How to use REX NF 41 liquid glider - comments...

Rex recommends to use the NF41 liquid glider as special glider for men-made snow. As we know, men-made snow is very abrasive in wet and extremely abrasive in cold conditions.

In other words: the main parameters which decide about the quality of the product and gliding features on men-made snow are hardness and wear resistance combined with hydrophobic and dirt-repelling features.

I was quite surprising for me that REX NF 41 works a liquid glider and is applied cold.

Below some comments and ideas related to the product and application method.

NF41 seems to be a very interesting product... it obviously does not rely on mechanical retention inside the micro-structure of the ski base only. Why? First it is applied cold only which means, the nano-structure inside the ski base cannot be reached for mechanical retention, mechanical retention inside the micro-structure cannot be sufficent for men-made snow which is extremely abrasive. Second the preparation steps before application do not include brushing with fine steel brushes to open the ski base, remove old wax residues and refresh the micro-structure... Conclusion: NF41 needs to be fixed chemically directly to UHMWPE. To achieve reliable chemical bonds the product needs to develop stronger bonds than the normal van der Walschen bonds which are too weak or modify the UHMWPE surface slightly to get inside the polymer without ironing! Both apporaches are very interessting, especially if combined 

What seems to be a bit strange is the use of nylon brush for preparation. It could be explained by the fear of the developers of NF41 that the use of a fine steel brush could contaminate the surface with old wax residues which could impact the chemical reactions on the surface negatively. The presence of hard and very hard nano-components in the product is showing the deep understanding of NF41 developers for what really matters when gliding on hard abrasive snow like men made snow below zero. To fix the hard layer on the surface instead inside the surface of the ski base could be also very befefitial... I personally do not like any movements against the gliding direction during the application process and need to check the function and composition of GOLD LIQUID product, but after long time a very interesting product with a very reasonable application method. If it works, it would be a great development step!

How does the wax stick to the ski base? - part I.

It is common knowledge that ski bases are waxed. Many wax manufacturers offer liquid waxes where the wax is dissolved in a rapidly evaporating agent. With a sponge you just apply liquid solution of wax and solvent on the ski base and after the solvent evaporation your ski is ready to be used with improved gliding features!

Is it really true?

To answer this question, we need to understand how the wax sticks to the ski base. Does it stick by chemical bonds or by mechanical retention?

The way how waxes stick to the ski base depends especially on the type and features of the ski base. Cheaper extruded ski base types do not have NANO fibril structure to retain waxes mechanically, thus they need to stick to the ski base by chemical bonds only.

 

Chemical bonds are – however – very weak, thus the abrasion resistance of such a wax layer is very low. In other words: a wax layer – especially liquid wax layer – applied on the cheaper extruded ski base will wear off in several hundred meters or max. kilometers depending on snow conditions.

 

More expensive sintered ski base types have NANO fibril structure on the very top surface to retain waxes mechanically, thus waxes are mixed with the base material to a new layer consisting of both wax and ski base material.

 

Mechanically retained wax molecules are protected against abrasion forces, thus their life time is relatively good. Mechanical retention is – however – supported by heat, thus hot wax application is recommended here. Cold liquid wax application will hardy penetrate deep enough.

Conclusions

Waxes stick to cheap extruded ski base types by weak chemical bonds only with very low life time of wax coating. Waxes stick to more expensive sintered ski base types by mechanical retention with good life time. Liquid wax application seems to be waste of money in both cases.