As far a wax for the bottom of skis I use Swix Glide Wax. Glide wax is the wax you use to put a base coat on crosscountry skis.
The method to use is ....melt the glide wax onto the bottom of the ski, use an old iron and hold the wax against the iron and drip onto the ski in a series of little beads along the surface, then using the iron run it flatly along the ski to melt the wax evenly over the bottom. Put the waxed skis out side to cool, the colder the better, then comes the messy part, with a scraper remove as much wax as you can. Then with a stiff brush and a cork smoother (from ski shop) smooth out the bottom, apply some pressure (like sanding) This should last a season on ice and snow (no gravel). I am sure you can find a video on utube for waxing xcountry skis. Remember its GLIDE WAX.
