The nylon brush is the basic tool for brushing. The bristles are about 10mm long and sufficiently stiff to cover the range of gliders down to harder waxes. Using this brush makes the glide surface hard and shiny which improves the ski’s glide sensitivity at lower speeds. It can be used for brushing all waxes. In practice, it is nearly impossible to brush too aggressively, especially if the bases are treated with blue or harder waxes. The Nylon Brush is a suitable tool for nearly all conditions. Only in very wet, drenched conditions, the glide surfaces need to be finished with other brushes. As the brush softens through use, it becomes more suitable for finishing off skis treated with fluor powders.
The horse hair brush is designed for finishing off glide surfaces treated with powders in high suction conditions, when the desire is to get the maximum amount of separation between the ski base and the snow surface. The horse hair brush removes the shiny gloss from the glide surfaces and opens up stone ground bases considerably more finely than nylon brush. It improves the velocity of the skis in higher speeds but decreases their sensitivity in very low speeds. Horsehair is not recommended for finishing glide surfaces in normal below freezing conditions. Avoid brushing too much when working with fluor powders – although the brush feels soft it removes powder very quickly and thoroughly.
