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View Full Version : Refinishing a Murdock Racing Ski?



SGettmann
03-25-2006, 01:47 PM
Does anyone have any experience with refinishing an older wooden race ski? I have a 1980's version Dick Murdock wooden race ski. It was a prototype ski of the time with 3 steps on the bottom. My mom used to haul ass on the plank back in the day. The ski has been sitting in the barn for some years, and the resin finish is all micro-cracked, but the wood is in good shape. I started taking a sander to it today, but it takes an a long time to remove the finish. Plus, I don't want to risk taking the rocker out of the ski. I want to turn it into a short rope training ski for myself, and have Beemis make me up some double wrap bindings for it. Does anyone have any experience on what I should use to remove the finish? Is sanding the only way to go, or is there gel that I can put on there that removes the finish. For redoing bike frames, I've used Jasco, but that stuff is nasty :220v: and will eat you alive. Don't know if that is appropriate for wood.
Thanks for any insite.
Sean

obnoxious001
03-25-2006, 11:37 PM
Sean
You probably would benefit more from using a shorter ski for your short rope training. Most guys like a Maha 360, I used to use a 68" fiberglass one. I looked at shortening an old Murdock one time, but the island configuration would have made it difficult. If you train on too long of a ski, you need to go too fast to get much good out of it. A short ski at about 40 mph works pretty well,, with maybe a 60' rope, depending on the boat and wake.
I am sure there are many good strippers that work with wood,,, just read the instructions carefully?

SGettmann
03-27-2006, 12:07 PM
Obnoxious,
Thanks for the insite. I'll need to measure the Murdock that I have. It's much shorter than my Maha long board. The tail section is very short. My mom noted that her racing skis handled very poorly until over 60 mph or so, then they started to work well. I'm still trying to form my own opinion about this. For a rope length, I talked to Mike Bemis and he suggested a 100' rope, but I can always shorten it up to make to try that. It's been a while since 0-9 class, so I have allot of catching up to do. Weight training is going well. Just get my motor rebuilt and get some training time in.
I need to head down to the hardware store and start asking around on finish removers.
Sean
Sean
You probably would benefit more from using a shorter ski for your short rope training. Most guys like a Maha 360, I used to use a 68" fiberglass one. I looked at shortening an old Murdock one time, but the island configuration would have made it difficult. If you train on too long of a ski, you need to go too fast to get much good out of it. A short ski at about 40 mph works pretty well,, with maybe a 60' rope, depending on the boat and wake.
I am sure there are many good strippers that work with wood,,, just read the instructions carefully?

OrangePicker
03-29-2006, 05:18 PM
Do any of you guys know where to get a used MAHA 360?

h2oski2fast
03-30-2006, 12:59 PM
Do any of you guys know where to get a used MAHA 360?
They are very hard to find nowadays. Keep looking at garage sales and onlineplaces like Craigslist.com. Sometimes they pop up on Ebay, but go for a mint. Or you could always go buy a new one for over $1200, which I think is ridiculous. Many people are looking towards the DC for training/play skis.

OrangePicker
03-30-2006, 02:52 PM
They are very hard to find nowadays. Keep looking at garage sales and onlineplaces like Craigslist.com. Sometimes they pop up on Ebay, but go for a mint. Or you could always go buy a new one for over $1200, which I think is ridiculous. Many people are looking towards the DC for training/play skis.
Thank you I will keep my eyes open. What are DC Skis?

h2oski2fast
03-30-2006, 03:04 PM
They make racing and social skis out of Austrailia.
http://www.dcwaterskis.com.au/

OrangePicker
03-30-2006, 03:55 PM
They make racing and social skis out of Austrailia.
http://www.dcwaterskis.com.au/
Thank You
IM guna check them out

robk
04-19-2006, 07:41 AM
Does anyone have any experience with refinishing an older wooden race ski? I have a 1980's version Dick Murdock wooden race ski. It was a prototype ski of the time with 3 steps on the bottom. My mom used to haul ass on the plank back in the day. The ski has been sitting in the barn for some years, and the resin finish is all micro-cracked, but the wood is in good shape. I started taking a sander to it today, but it takes an a long time to remove the finish. Plus, I don't want to risk taking the rocker out of the ski. I want to turn it into a short rope training ski for myself, and have Beemis make me up some double wrap bindings for it. Does anyone have any experience on what I should use to remove the finish? Is sanding the only way to go, or is there gel that I can put on there that removes the finish. For redoing bike frames, I've used Jasco, but that stuff is nasty :220v: and will eat you alive. Don't know if that is appropriate for wood.
Thanks for any insite.
Sean
Jasco works great on wood -- my old man spends countless hours restoring antique furniture and uses nothing but Jasco, a heat gun, and a scraper for all of his paint/finish stripping needs.
Rob

SGettmann
04-19-2006, 04:07 PM
Jasco works great on wood -- my old man spends countless hours restoring antique furniture and uses nothing but Jasco, a heat gun, and a scraper for all of his paint/finish stripping needs.
Rob
Thanks Rob - I've been sanding by hand and it's taking time. I'm starting to get to the point of the ski where I don't want to be sanding much since I'll mess up the edges of the ski. I've got some steps in the back of the ski that are pretty trick - reminds me of the steps in the Nordic Blaze, but on a ski.
I'll let you know how it comes out. Off to Tri-state - Idaho's most interesting store to get some Jabsco. This is an everything store, where you can buy running shoes, clothes, water skies, .22 ammo, and tools. Only in Idaho can you find 1 stop shopping like this.