Anti-snow-stick Spray

People use lots of silicone spray to try this "easy" approach. Doesn't work (for any length of time). There was also a waxy spray back in the day, but it didn't work too well either (that spray finish , and the wax was sticky to be wax that could go in a can and be sprayed).

I put Butcher's bowling alley wax (paste carnauba (turps vehicle), applied & polished with a rag) on my snow shovel (which is an aluminum grain shovel, and beats the pants off most "snow shovels" in serious snow, while working OK in the fluffy stuff they work on) back in November - it's still working. Bring the shovel inside, get it good and dry, warm helps, apply wax, polish, get it good and cold, use it.

If you don't happen to have that, use whatever paste wax you have - car wax if you have it, other floor wax if need be, but bowling alley wax really works very well if you have it or can get it. Given how long it works, it's much "easier" than a spray can, IMHO.

This makes sense, I have car wax, so that is what I will try indeed!

i

Just came across a posting on a forum board about that very thing.. A couple of the guys there said they use cooking spray. eg. PAM

WD-40? Cooking Spray?

Good Luck! Rich

Waxing also helps the surfaces on snowblowers.

I use some microcrystalline wax. It is the stuff used for lost wax casting and works well, but any wax will work. I tried using some PAM and it works, just does not last as long.

By the way, I used a garden fork ( like a spade, but with four tines ) to get some ice off the driveway. I think it might be better than a scraper with a solid blade. Think ice pick.

=20 Dan

I would suggest giving cross country ski wax a try. It's designed to prevent just that. Well, I'm not sure anyone actually waxes XC skis anymore, been a couple decades since I did any of that. There was also, back then, a liquid for application to waxless skis, Glide I think it was called. Believe it had teflon. I used this stuff a lot, never had to reapply during a skiing session.

Doesn't that just suck all to hell when you swing a shovel full of snow and the lump refuses to depart at the end of the swing? I've taken my back out a couple times from that...

Jon

I use Butcher's paste wax as well, and it works well. Sold in hardware stores.

I also use the grain shovel. Although it flexes disturbingly, it has not broken yet.

Joe Gwinn

Wax is good, even paraffin will have some effect. Blade has to be warm and dry when applied. I've seen guys trying to use WD40, will work for a bit until it drips/runs/is worn off. For larger blades, my dad used graphite paint on his plow, got it from one of the implement dealers. Not sure if it was the graphite that did it or just that it was black and soaked up the sun.

I find that steel shovel blades have less problems with snow sticking than aluminum or plastic. Just hard finding a new one with more than an inch or two of wear surface. Mostly they're fastening the handle waaay too close to the blade edge. Makes for quicker return trips to the store for new ones.

Stan

We had the weirdest snow I've ever seen here in St. Louis. I have seen graupel a number of times before - raindrops that froze before hitting the ground. But, we had over 24 HOURS of steady graupel here, before it finally changed to snow just before ending. The stuff is like trying to shovel wet cement! So, the entire storm left about 3" of this stuff that was sort of like wet beach sand.

One odd observation. I used my crummy snowblower to clear part of my driveway yesterday. Then, it snowed some more that night. Where I had used the snowblower, the new snow was light and fluffy, easy to clear with the snowblower. Where I DIDN'T get it cleared the previous day, there must have been unfrozen water in the graupel, and it caused the new snow to freeze into white cement! The snowblower just slid on the surface, and you couldn't push it into the stuff at all.

Jon

"Ignoramus27303" wrote in message news:eNmdnQXhZoZzItTQnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...

Try moly based dry film lubricant. It is black in color though.

Well, on the shovel, it worked REALLY GREAT!

I was done using the snowblower today, but I will try waxing the chute the next time I use it.

It has a big motor, but does not throw the snow as far as I would like.

i

Ecnerwal wrote in rec.crafts.metalworking on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:48:54 -0500:

That last bit is important. A warm shovel will become wet, then re-freeze, and stick to snow. Keep your shovel outside in the shade.

By the way, I tried looking for "bowling wax", and it looks like there is a bewildering amount of choices. Could someone recommend one specific wax to me?

Exhausted in Illinois

My Yo-Ho shovel (McMaster) broke today, after just two years of use. I fixed it though.

i

Jon, I used a very strange blue/green substance that is called "car wax". It feels like some sort of soft gel. Despite its weird appearance, it worked very well. I applied it relatively generously and wiped down.

i

If it's a two stage blower and is working properly it should have no trouble throwing most snow (not really wet snow) at least 10'.

"Thou shalt clear snow the same day", this is now a rule that I try to never break! I goofed once on this and regretted it so much, we had a icy nightmare on the drvieway for weeks.

i

Heh, we're encased in ice here in N. TX. I had to drive home 50 miles in it yesterday evening and the highways were still well crusted with ice

2"-4" thick. Traffic in what is normally a 70 MPH zone was going 25-30 MPH, even the semis. Now that I'm home, I'm going to try to hibernate until the ice is gone which should be this weekend.