Hi
DD got her new skates. They are Freestyle. She skated in them once and had no problem. She is complaining they aren't stiff enough But the shop did not waterproof them and I did not ask. She still does not have the permanent screws in. Is it safe to wait until the screws are put in? Or did we ruin the skate already?

You didn't ruin her skates. You also don't need to waterproof her skates. Jackson skates come with a kind of coating already on them. I LOVE that about Jackson skates! My daughter is in her second pair of Jackson's and this pair are second hand and the soles look pretty darn good. I think as long as you are dilligent about drying the soles, you don't need to worry about doing any kind of sealing to them. JMO! Edited to add: we DID sno-seal dd's and my own Riedell skates. Riedell skates do not have a protective coating on them and as far as my limited knowlege goes, I don't know of any other manufaturer who does that, other then Jackson. I am sure the more experienced parents and skaters can and will chime in here!

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skating mom to 3 angels on earth and 1 in heaven

yea! thanks

Just picked up my kiddies' new Jackson Freestyles (w/ Coronation Ace blades). The boots do come with a PVC plastic coating on the bottoms. The local skate tech usually "levels the sole of the boot" by running it across a belt sander, which removes that PVC coating. I asked him not to do it this time because I like the coating on the bottom more than the thick coat of Sno-Seal and Silicone. We maintain and waterproof the skates well without that treatment.

The Freestyle edges will need to be waterproofed eventually because they're not plastic-coated, only the bottom of the sole. Don't worry about it for now since the Sno-Seal won't soak into brand-new boots and it won't affect the blade attachment. Give it a month or so, but if you see dark spots on the sides, a coat of sno-seal will be in order.

Let her use the skates a few times to test out the blade alignment. If there's an issue, the blade can be adjusted with the temporary screws. If the alignment's okay, you can have the pro shop put in the permanent screws after five hours or so of skating. If you plan to do it yourself, pre-drill the permanent (round) holes, but be careful not to drill too deeply - you don't want the drill bit to go all the way through to the sole.

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Oh I won't do that myself. I know these aren't the most expensive skates out there, but thay are still too expensive for me to be drilling holes in them!!