As a precaution, I always wax a new set. My pro shop owner usually does it when he installs them for me but, I usually do it after I shoot the strings in anyways.
Are they Mathews premium strings or the factory set? If so, I would do just the opposite of waxing them, i would take a small piece of strings or floss and strip all the excess wax off. The new Mathews strings come very "waxy" and do not need to be waxed for quite some time. When your strings look "dry" and you can't feel the wax on them or they begin to fuzz then they are in need of wax. Try to wax before those stages appear. You want wax deep within the string to lubricate the strands not just a bunch of excess wax on the outer edge of the string so it is important really rub the wax in and get it deep in the fibers.
I just put a set of Mathews Premium strings on my bow, and didn't notice the excess wax at all. In fact, they seemed a bit dry to me. I lubed them up with some String Snot and they look great.
Question: Would the wax get into the fibers better if the bow was in a press and the string was loosened to the point of sagging slightly?
Oh and to address getting the wax down in the fibers, I use a hair dryer on low to melt the wax and rub it in.
To start, I am not bashing Mathews here, but my last Mathews was a Switchback back in 2007 or 2008. I had a lot of trouble with accuracy consistency so took it into a shop (that was a Mathews dealer) to have it looked at. The shop owner/operator instantly explained that the "brand new" strings need to changed as they stretch excessively. I am not sure if this is a trend among all of the manufacturers, but it was rather upsetting knowing that I had to spend an additional $100 on a set of strings for a brand new $850 bow!!! The strings were waxed after each time I "broke-it-in" so it was not that I never waxed the strings. In 2010 I purchased a longer ATA bow from another manufacturer and followed the same waxing principles. As of today I am still shooting the original strings. Justin, how do you like the String Snot product? I have been using the Black Lightning product for what seems like ever, but would be interested in trialing another product if the reviews are favorable.
Strip the excess off. If there is excess. I have found that about every set I have seen from Mathews this year has excess wax. As far as getting it deep in the fibers, I would not go to the extreme with a press and all that, and if I did do that I would not take all the tension on the strings, just a little tiny bit. When I wax a string that is on a bow already I take my wax and put a whole bunch on the string, then I take and rub it in with my fingers really good, moving my fingers fairly fast and using a little bit of pressure to create some friction. This friction will heat the wax a little bit and get the wax where it needs to go. After I rub it in I take and scrape most of the excess off with a piece of string or something laying around. What this does is clean the outside and keep the string in a round bundle.
I wouldn't say these strings have excess wax. They look good but I was just wondering what the norm was. Thanks for all the advise.
I don't want to hijack the thread but what is the purpose of waxing the bow string? What does it prevent?
