The Podium Workshop

Our Philosophy

This company was created by racers and coaches with speed in mind. Not just speed on the race course, but speed everywhere. There’s a special thrill to passing a racer who’s tucking down a cat track… while you’re standing up! What’s better than clearing table tops without long hikes or set-up? It’s exciting to train on skis that run as fast as the race day stuff. But fun and thrills are only part of the deal. We believe that to achieve the best results in competition, training should be as realistic as possible. Training at speeds 5% slower than race day is a wasted opportunity. The durability of our products makes it practical to train on race-day fast gear every day. Isn’t that the timing you’re trying to develop?

How to prepare your bases –

• A good grind is important. But nearly as important is what you do between the grind and waxing. A freshly ground (or new) ski/board has high structure points. These are normally uneven and cause friction at the contact points, even after a dressing pass on the grinder. This problem can easily be eliminated, with the added benefit of spreading aggregate weight distribution on the snow.
• We recommend polishing and flattening the contact points by wet sanding with non-clogging, ultra-fine, sandpaper. We use paper specially designed to leave no residue while creating the smoothest possible contact surface. This high quality paper allows us to save days of run-in time for the bases. Use on a wax free ski. Lubricate the process with a gallon of water and few drops of liquid dish detergent. We sand progressively using both grits (800 and 1200), finishing with the 1200. (Check out our Base Prep Kit)
• Once the base is smooth, set the base bevel and side edge angles, and stone polish them. 
• Hot clean the ski again with Podium Base Cleaning Wax. We recommend our wax because it is perfectly clear and reveals when all contaminants have been removed.

Working-up the base –

Ski/snowboard bases are made of very durable materials. Unless gouged, frayed or burned, all they need is regular maintenance consisting of regular wax applications, scraping and brushing. Modern bases are sintered, which means there are tiny channels throughout the material. These channels are both anchors for wax products and hiding spots for contaminants. Our first concern has to be ensuring the contaminants are removed, as explained in the preceding step.

• Apply Podium Base Therapy either with an iron or in the hot box. This wax is extremely soft with special penetration and glide agents. This wax saturates the base, protecting it from unwanted contaminants, while providing a layer to which subsequent waxes will adhere.
• If a hot box isn’t available, iron in Podium Base Therapy, allow to cool, and iron again. Repeat several times (add wax if required) until the ski appears to have stopped absorbing wax. Allow to cool for 2 hours and fully scrape and brush.
• Use progressively harder (colder) waxes during work-up to increase protection and durability. The final coats should be with Podium Blue High Fluoro.

Chosing a day-to-day wax –

We recommend using only Podium High-Fluoro products after the skis are fully worked-up. The durability of our product, combined with our application techniques, makes it practical to use high-fluoro waxes all of the time.

• Due to the superior durability of our product, skis will often retain a healthy sheen even after 2-3 days of use. In those instances, just rebrush and go for it tomorrow! Daily waxing is recommended if the snow is particularly abrasive or dirty.
• Podium waxes use special glide agents which increase temperature ranges without penalty. You will note all of our waxes have significant overlap with those on either side of the temperature range. Just choose the wax which most closely matches anticipated temperatures. If you are in doubt, choose the next colder wax.
• Always use Smart Wax™ as a topping coat for timed runs or competition. Its unique microfilm technology allows for a huge (0-60 F) temperature range.  
• Apply our soft accelerator over Smart Wax™ in snow warmer than 35 degrees F with moisture present.

Daily Waxing

• Once properly “worked-up” a ski just needs to be saturated with wax and protected from contaminants and harsh snow crystals.  Regular maintenance is the key.
• Some people argue that there is a penalty for excessive use of fluoro carbon waxes.  We don’t agree.  Proper application and maintenance ensures your waxes will work for you every day.   
• There is no penalty for Smart Fluoro™ -- the richer in Smart Fluoros™ your ski becomes, the greater assurance of top speed in all conditions. 
• For routine care, we recommend crayoning two layers of Podium High- Fluoro Wax over the entire base, then melting it at the lowest possible temperature.  Using this method results in little or no lost wax, while fully protecting the ski.  
• Work the iron until the wax has melted and warmed your already wax-rich base layer.
• Allow the skis to cool for at least 30 minutes (optimal time is 2 or more hours).
• Thoroughly scrape and brush the skis. 
• After work-up and a few maintenance coats, your skis will take on a permanent sheen.
• If you are skiing in non-contaminated, soft, snow a wax job may last several days.  Check your skis at the end of the day.  Brush them and if there is still a consistent sheen, you’re good to go!

Applying Smart Wax™ -

Smart Wax™ is like no wax you have ever applied.  Not only is it fast, but it is durable.  The broad range of this product is based upon a unique combination of ingredients, plus the fact that it only takes a microfilm layer to get the job done.  The unpracticed eye can hardly recognize those areas where the wax has been applied, so we recommend you follow the following process:

• Wax with High Fluoro Race and fully scrape and brush the skis before application of Smart Wax ™. 
• Carefully apply Smart Wax™ using strokes from tip to tail of the ski.  Holding the ski at a slight angle makes coverage more visible.
• Do not press excessively hard.
• Polish with a felt cloth/pad or soft brush. 
• Repeat the process for longer races or in very abrasive snow.
• DO NOT iron or melt Smart Wax ™.

Applying White Lightning -

White Lightning is an accelerator.  It will not last through an entire course, but will give noticeable acceleration through the early part of the course.  We have used this at temps down to 15F with no penalty.  The effect of this product increases through 32F.  Use the following process to apply White Lightning:

• Follow the procedures above to apply Smart Wax
• Apply White Lightning on two to three 4’ areas along the ski (just below the tip, just ahead of the front binding and just behind the heel binding).  Use a gentle motion with very little pressure – don’t want too much here.
• Work the product into the base with a small piece of fine fibertech until evenly distributed.
• Polish with a soft brush.