Waxing your Snowboard

Do you like getting stuck on the cat-tracks?
Do you like your board grabbing the snow?
Do you like collecting snow-cones on your base?

If not…then it’s time to wax your gear. Depending how often you ride, it’s going to treat your equipment better if you wax every couple uses rather than 2 times a year. So treat it good and give it some wax.Also remember a factory wax will not last your board that long, maybe 1 day on snow…so take your brand new board and get it a fresh coat of wax.

Check out Vociferous Void’s article on wax here

What you need:
Wax: Some examples are Swix, Bluebird, One Ball Jay, Burton.I make sure I have 3 different waxes handy to use at all times, cold temperature, warm temperature and all-temperature. The most common and cost-efficient use for anyone is all-temperature. I also use bluebird soy wax with is good for the environment and a good wax overall.

Scraper: You can buy metal or plastic scrapers. I prefer plastic scrapers because with metal scrapers if you push too hard, you can damage the board.

Waxing Iron: Using a snowboard specific waxing iron is the best choice. You can use a household iron, but try to find one with no holes on the iron and watch the temperature. Most household irons get too hot for your snowboard base, so you want it on the lowest setting. If there is smoke, that’s bad…lower your setting until it cools down.

Base Cleaner:Handy to have around but do not over-use, it can dry out your base. I find Base Cleaner comes in handy during the grimy spring conditions or when I’m changing from cold to warm temp wax and need to get rid of old wax on the board.
Preparation:
You want the gear to be at room temperature. A cold base will not absorb wax, so put your gear inside until it’s at room temperature.

• Wipe down the base with a towel or rag to get rid of any dirt.
• Make sure your board is base up and steady, vices come in handy for holding your equipment steady.

 

Step 1:
Drip the Wax onto the Base: By holding the wax to the iron (making sure the temperature isn’t too hot) it’ll drip the wax onto the base. Go light on the drips since you can always drip more later. Drip the wax among the entire base but again keep it minimal. It’s best to use the same iron temperature setting that you’ll use to rub in the wax. Wax fills into the pores of the base immediately as you drip wax onto the base.

Step 2:
Iron in the wax: Smoothe the wax over the base using the iron. Go slowly enough to allow the wax to absorb but keep the iron moving. Never leave an iron sitting in one spot on the base too long…imagine an imprint of an iron forever. Run the iron from end to end, circular motions are a no-no. Once the wax is spread out on the base of the board, unplug your wax Iron and put it in a safe spot until it cools off.

Step 3:
Scrap the Wax: While the wax is still warm, take a plastic scraper and scrape you entire base from end to end. It’s okay to scrape back and forth to get through the tough spots. The reason you scrape while the wax is still warm, is because if you have tried to scrape off after waiting too long…it’ll take a lot more work to get the wax off. Extruded bases are also more difficult to scrape wax off than sintered.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not re-use the wax scrapings you just scraped off, the melted wax pulls out the dirt from the pores of the base and you don’t want to re-use dirt do you?

Step 4:
Now you can end it there or if you have a scotch-brite pad, you can run that softly from tip to tail to clean the base of any remnants.

Your Equipment is now ready to ride!