Don't know why no one with access to a mass spectometer hasn't taken a
look at that grey stuff's chemical composition and compare it to a
scraping of shiny base, but in any event I wonder if base oxidation is
caused by the same action as freezer burn. See above link.


Gary,

I hear you. Scientific research in the area of surface chemistry of
polypropylene ski bases is lacking. The myths/beliefs/facts about
pores, base oxidation, wax soaking, wax retention, microstructure etc
are all testable with a mass spec, optical/atomic_force/electron
microscopy, etc. This equipment is quite pricey for basement type
science (e.g. at least $100K for a decent atomic force microscope, but
the realistic range is more like $500K). Due to the cost, the
equipment is often shared between different labs (e.g. a department
may have a shared mass spec) which means that usage time is often
limited.

Surface chemistry in general (not just of ski bases) is a tough field
(“God created bulk but the Devil created surface” - by Fermi?)

I am wondering why wax companies never publish semi-scientific proof
of their claims (I've only seen semi-quantitative data on contact
angles on wax packs).