curious about people's ptex techniques

everyone seems to have their own way of doing this and I was wondering what the tried and true is. Mine is ghetto and I think i need some tips.

Ptex stick, lighter, metal base scraper
1. light ptex stick
2. drip in gouge
3. keep carbon out of gouge by scraping off w/metal scraper
4 push on filled in gouge with scraper
5 scrape
6 wax

-thats what I do, whats the best way. and is it true that ptex sticks and the six pack beer plastic rings are the same material?

plus... i would be interested in thoughts/pics on home tuning benches. I have a basement but no garage and I need to tune my gear.

Six pack rings are LDPE (#4 low-density "photodegradable" polyethylene
PTEX is a brand name for UHMWPE (Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) ... somtimes graphite is included in the sintering process

So... no... but it might work.

When dripping the P-Tex, hold the candle close to the ski to minimize carbonization. Remember that if you drip P-Tex, a shop's gun P-Tex will not adhere to the gouge in the base if your repair falls out and they will probably cut out around the area of the repair.


Now can someone give me the technonerd description of a base weld?

I use a handheld butane torch (the $10 at home depot kind) instead of a lighter. I seem to be able to keep the PTEX burning with a nice blue flame more easily that way. My repair jobs usually hlod pretty well.

Use a razor or stanley knife to turn the gouge from looking like this \_/ to this /__\ to help make the weld stick. Then fill it with your favorite hot ptex. At the shop I usually use the ptex gun (for the uninformed, imagine a glue gun). Up here I used a ptex stick, butane torch, and a razor blade to scrape. It's held for a season so far.

Bace welds get the ptex much hotter than the normal drip methed and the ptex gun. It is simaler to a ptex gun but the bace welds will bond muchbetter because the ptex is much much hotter.
Dont forget to clean the "wound" real good and angle your walls so the bond will be much stronger.

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Originally Posted by FNG

Use a razor or stanley knife to turn the gouge from looking like this \_/ to this /__\ to help make the weld stick.

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That's a good idea. I'm going to start doing that.

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Originally Posted by 420skier

Bace welds get the ptex much hotter than the normal drip methed and the ptex gun. It is simaler to a ptex gun but the bace welds will bond muchbetter because the ptex is much much hotter.
Dont forget to clean the "wound" real good and angle your walls so the bond will be much stronger.

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I've been told that base welds use a ptex that has some epoxy in it.

Cool tip with the angling using the knife, thats the type of shit I was hoping people would chime in with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FNG

Use a razor or stanley knife to turn the gouge from looking like this \_/ to this /__\ to help make the weld stick. Then fill it with your favorite hot ptex. At the shop I usually use the ptex gun (for the uninformed, imagine a glue gun). Up here I used a ptex stick, butane torch, and a razor blade to scrape. It's held for a season so far.

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Best advice so far. In addition, keep your work clean from dirt/oil. Even a fingerprint on your work area will make the repair plug more likely to fall out before its time. Preheat the base, too. Don't try to perform a weld/repair on skis that just came in from the cold.



Also, if you light your p-tex candle with a blue-flame source, it will be less likely to carbon up after it is lit. Yellow flame, like from a lighter or match, will almost surely carbon up the p-tex stick.

Just in case you are curious, a regular glue gun is not hot enough to melt p-tex.

For core shots on the edge, without pulling the edge out, I use PC-7 epoxy. Similar to JB weld epoxy. It is a 2 part paste epoxy that is very strong. It is drillable and tapable to hold threads.

I use ptex repair string and the base repair iron from Tognar (pictured below). Then I use a Versaform plane (be sure it's nice and sharp) to remove the excess at the top. Then a metal scraper to scrape it down. The iron works awesome - I think it's worth the $30 - safer for inside an apartment also.

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Originally Posted by Below Zero

I use ptex repair string and the base repair iron from Tognar (pictured below). Then I use a Versaform plane (be sure it's nice and sharp) to remove the excess at the top. Then a metal scraper to scrape it down. The iron works awesome - I think it's worth the $30 - safer for inside an apartment also.

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I use a sanding block after the versaplane, then the scraper. Works awesome.

At the shop we use a razor, then sureform (grater), then a rolling planar, then a thin metal scraper, then we grind the base (and edge) and wax.

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Originally Posted by cj001f

I use a sanding block after the versaplane, then the scraper. Works awesome.

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Oh, yeah, I forgot the sanding part - I do that too!

i use a big file to get the repair close to the base, then metal scraper.

i find our ptex gun is much less precise than using a candle. i hate using the thing, its messy as hell.

I read in a thread the other day about not letting the P-Tex stick burn. What do you do, hold the flame to the stick continuously? How do you keep it from burning on its own?

Oh yeah, where's a good place to get ski tuning equipment (p-tex, iron, edge sharpener)....anywhere?

I use a tip sort of like this:http://www.cooperhandtools.com/_cach...69b3ece9a7.jpg on my soldering gun.

Then trim with a metal scraper, sand and scrape flat.

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Originally Posted by bagtagley

Oh yeah, where's a good place to get ski tuning equipment (p-tex, iron, edge sharpener)....anywhere?

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Tognar Toolworks If they don't have it, you don't need it.

Forgot to mention. If you're using a butane torch, make a few light passes over the area on the base you're gonna repair to heat it up a bit. You can use the hot-box too if you've got one. After your weld has cooled, take a heavy wire brush, heavier than the brass brush, and go over the ptex a few times to put some texture in it. I believe they call it a structure brush. The ptex will never accept wax, but put some really hard/cold wax over it to help seal it and protect it.

The gun works really well for long scrapes. Once you get the hang of it, you can get the whole thing in one pass. For short deep ones, dripping it in works better. I've never used the iron posted earlier.

For really big fuck-ups, use a ptex patch as it will accept wax. Cut a clean shape of your choosing out of the base down to the core. Then cut the same shape out of the patch and epoxy it into place. Again, use the hard/cold wax on it to seal and protect it.

The structure tip is a good one. I don't go quite as aggressive with the wire brush. But I do use a green sctoch-brite pad on the p-tex while it is stil warm to put some structure in.

i use bukkake, in all aplications where hot material needs to be added.

as should all of you!

shinjuku, MOTHERFUCKER!

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Originally Posted by Angry Whelk

i use bukkake, in all aplications where hot material needs to be added.

as should all of you!

shinjuku, MOTHERFUCKER!

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What the fack are you talking about? :confused:

Just a little fyi when scraping larger repairs...

I usually start in the middle of a rapair and scrape outwards at first. This reduces the chance of hooking the repair at one end and ripping it out. When it is close to flush, then I scrape it from one end to the other (again, with metal scraper).

Also, I let it cool, but start scraping while it is still a little warm (softer) rather than waiting like an hour till fully cooled.

6 pakc rings will work in an emergancy, but there defintly not the best material. Plastic milk jugs are HDPE the same thing as extruded Ptex bases. Sinistered bases are UHMWPE wich is a completly different material, but will patch with HDPE quite well.

1 make sure the area is cleaned with wax remover, notch area as depicted in previous posts. Get the surounding area very hot, then patch. This will create a better bond.

Avoid quenching it by cooling it too fast, do-not use a p-tex roller, it will cool the area way to quickly increasing the chance for a pull out, your better off layering the patch up with small amounts of material at a time.

Im waiting for the patented BobMc candle wax method

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Originally Posted by Lurch

I've been told that base welds use a ptex that has some epoxy in it.

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That's stuff called "Metal Grip" and does stick to metal better than regular p-tex. However it's a pain in the ass to work with.

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Originally Posted by Below Zero

I use ptex repair string and the base repair iron from Tognar (pictured below). Then I use a Versaform plane (be sure it's nice and sharp) to remove the excess at the top. Then a metal scraper to scrape it down. The iron works awesome - I think it's worth the $30 - safer for inside an apartment also.

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My method also but I bought the versaform with my order from Tognar but found it hard to work with. I just use by skivisions plane and it works great. I never use my metal scrapper anymore.

I use a soldering iron wit a 1/2" wide ,flat tip ....remove excess with a hand plane (woodworking) ,sand, then metal scraper.

Question for those that use a gun. Sometimes I'll get bubbles in the p-tex when I'm laying it down. Does anyone have a good tip to prevent this? It's a pain because you end up having to work the p-tex in with the gun...quite a bit of screwing around to get the patch to set right.

Curious about exposed metal core shots.

Seem to be four options:
1) ptex
2) epoxy (with or without ptex cheese gratings), then ptex
3) metalgrip (a/k/a copolymer), then ptex
4) ptex repair sheet (a/k/a repair ribbon) epoxied to core

#1 seems not to bond well
#2 I have not tried, but some like it.
Another thread mentions using just epoxy to fill the entire void (no ptex on top). I wonder if this would be the best repair for that pesky groove right next to the edge. I have some of these grooves and they worry me since any subsequent rock hit will not slide off, but will catch the edge and rip it out. Any candle repairs dont last at all.
#3 is allegedly sticky and messy,but is it the best thing other than #4? Does it really stick that well?
#4 seems ideal, except for the fact that I am not sure how you get the pieces to match exactly? Do you tape the patch to the ski and cut them both at the same time like a linoleum patch? How do you bond the edges together?

Good thread and info.
I am definitely buying an iron from Tognar. I just want to know if I should order metal grip and base sheets also.

Tognar repair tips here:
http://www.tognar.com/bsreptips.html

http://www.tognar.com/REPAIR2.JPG

From Tognar:
BASE REPAIR DURABILITY
Base repair materials vary in hardness, which affects their durability when filling gouges on a ski or snowboard base. A soft repair material wears faster than a hard one, which means that you'll have to refill gouges more frequently if you use a drip candle instead of p-tex repair ribbon.
Generally it's best to use repair material similar in hardness to your original ski or snowboard base. As you can see on the chart below, the p-tex ribbon is similar in hardness to a sintered base...while the repair string is more similar in hardness to an extruded base.
There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. When filling gouges alongside a steel edge, for example, we prefer copolymer, because...unlike other materials...it can bond to steel. Softer repair materials also bond more easily in shallow scratches on ski or snowboard bases...so we prefer to melt in soft material with a repair iron for these, and then switch to harder material for more durable repairs in medium and deep gouges.


A soft p-tex material, like a drip repair candle, is fast and easy to apply. This can be handy for travel or ‘on-the-spot’ repairs, but it will wear much quicker than surrounding base material. This might be okay for very shallow scratches, but in deeper gouges can become an ongoing maintenance nightmare.

Harder p-tex material, such as our repair ribbon, string or techo stix, take a little more time to apply...but last much longer. They won’t wear or ‘dish-out’ in gouges as fast over time. Some folks have noted that these materials don’t ‘flow’ into gouges like drip repair candles do. This is because they are denser and more durable, so don’t be discouraged by appearances.

Simply apply the ribbon, string or techo stix using a base repair iron or pistol (in successive layers if necessary) until you’ve overfilled the gouge. Let the material cool a few minutes. To remove excess, a regular steel scraper will usually not be sharp enough...its dull edge will tend to grab and yank the repair material out of the gouge. You need a sharper cutting tool for this operation. We recommend using the Versaplane to initially remove excess material...it is very sharp and cuts very cleanly. Once you’ve shaved away most of the excess, you should then be able to use a steel scraper of base flattener tool to take off the remaining material until the repaired area is flush with the rest of the base.
To help make new repairs ‘blend in’ with the surrounding material, you can lightly restructure the base with a tool such as the brass riller bar or SkiVisions base flattener...altho if the repair is small, this might be more effort than it’s worth.

I used to use straight up JB Weld for coreshots and it actually works pretty good. In more recent years I've been using this setup:

http://www.biglines.com/photos/norma...ines_48006.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evil E

everyone seems to have their own way of doing this and I was wondering what the tried and true is. Mine is ghetto and I think i need some tips.

Ptex stick, lighter, metal base scraper
1. light ptex stick
2. drip in gouge
3. keep carbon out of gouge by scraping off w/metal scraper
4 push on filled in gouge with scraper
5 scrape
6 wax

-thats what I do, whats the best way. and is it true that ptex sticks and the six pack beer plastic rings are the same material?

plus... i would be interested in thoughts/pics on home tuning benches. I have a basement but no garage and I need to tune my gear.

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You forgort step 1(a)....Yell "LEEEEEERRROYYYYY JENKIIIINNNNSSSS!!!!!"

Home tuning bench: melamine sheet screwed on top of an old ironing table (or a new $10 one). Not as stable as a bench with legs going outwards, but not bad for the <$20. And it folds against my wall too.

drC

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Originally Posted by mtbakerskier

your better off layering the patch up with small amounts of material at a time.

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Some people at a ski shop told me this is a bad idea since melted ptex doesn't stick very well to cold ptex.

I've used the metalgrip, and it works like a champ. It's difficult to not fill in the hole too much, but once you get it in properly, it sticks.

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Originally Posted by bagtagley

I read in a thread the other day about not letting the P-Tex stick burn. What do you do, hold the flame to the stick continuously? How do you keep it from burning on its own?

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Hold the burning ptex stick against a metal scraper, that way it burns with a low flame, and as a bonus, it doesn't drip all over the place.

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Originally Posted by Mountain Junkie

Question for those that use a gun. Sometimes I'll get bubbles in the p-tex when I'm laying it down. Does anyone have a good tip to prevent this? It's a pain because you end up having to work the p-tex in with the gun...quite a bit of screwing around to get the patch to set right.

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Use a cold (not real cold, room temp should do) flat piece of metal, and lay it over the ptex as soon as the bubble forms. It should draw the bubble out. I don't like the gun as much as a butane torch with a flat metal spoon (teaspoon will do for the DIYer) on it. Ie. the butane heats the spoon which you use to melt the ptex and run it over the "wound". This is an awesome method IMO and got much more use at the shop than the gun due to ease of use and ability to hold well. Anyone else use this? It's easy to make at home too.

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Originally Posted by Core Shot

Seem to be four options:
1) ptex
2) epoxy (with or without ptex cheese gratings), then ptex
3) metalgrip (a/k/a copolymer), then ptex
4) ptex repair sheet (a/k/a repair ribbon) epoxied to core

#3 is allegedly sticky and messy,but is it the best thing other than #4? Does it really stick that well?

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This is the method I use other than a structural repair then use 2 without ptex.

It is tricky to use ptex over copolymer but it can be done with some practice. You can just fill with coploymer. The disadvantage is that it is softer than ptex , about the same as drip ptex, so will wear faster than base. What I do is repair the coreshot with copolymer only . Ski... then later when have to repair base for other stuff I wallpaper over coreshot copolymer. This has advantage that wear leaves space for ptex layer. I find it difficult to put in just the right amount copolymer so you have room to put on a layer of ptex.

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Originally Posted by St. Deep

In more recent years I've been using this setup:

http://www.biglines.com/photos/norma...ines_48006.jpg

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Okay, so that's a few votes for the butane torch and spoon or knife.

Three questions:

1) can I use it to cook my heroin?

2) is there any problem with it getting too hot? wouldn't a soldering iron be a more precise heat? Isn't Butane too hot? 500F is the desired temp for ptex.

3) any recommendations for the butane torch component??

Thx.

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Originally Posted by FNG

Forgot to mention. If you're using a butane torch, make a few light passes over the area on the base you're gonna repair to heat it up a bit.

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This works well for me. Even if I only have a candle, heating the base before applying the new p-tex really helps bond the new p-tex in.

Bump, since I finally got my repair stuff together this weekend, and put a massive coreshot in my formerly-minty-fresh Snow Rangers (down to the metal):

I got the coreshot fix to work, using a combination of materials and techniques above.

1) Cut out rough edges of coreshot using razor knife (stanley knife) so that the patch will "keystone" in place with existing base material
2) Heat area to be fixed, carefully using heat gun
3) With chisel-tip Craftsman soldering iron, melt in Tognar's metalgrip string, filling coreshot about halfway
4) Immediately after #3, while metalgrip layer is still warm, melt in Tognar's "techo stix" ptex, also using soldering iron. Overfill coreshot a little bit above surface of surrounding material.
5) After repair has fully cooled off, mask coreshot area with tape. Then grate off the excess material with sureform tool (Lowe's, $6), level with surrounding base material. The tape helps minimize damage to the surrounding base, though I did scuff it up a bit.
6) Finish with some fine-grit sandpaper to smooth it all out, then scrape with metal scraper to take off the ptex hairs.
7) Brass brush (attempt to impart some structure to the repair area), wax and scrape as usual.