How To: Wax your Snowboard
nickhamilton
- September 18 2008
- 25,541 views
- 72 comments
Tools needed
Base cleaner and cloth
Wax
Iron
Level work station
Scraper
1. Clean It Up
The first step is to clean your base. You want to get all that grime off so the wax really takes. You can either use base cleaner and a rag or, to take the more involved route, run a hot iron over the base, apply a thin layer of wax, and scrap instantly. The “hot scrape” technique cleans your base by opening the pores and allowing any muck that might be hiding in there to be pulled out. Keeping your base clean might not be as much of an issue in the winter, but come spring and summer there’s a lot of contaminants in the snow, so a good base cleaning is crucial
2. Loosen Up
It’s a good idea to loosen the bolts on your board. Reason is, the bolts conduct heat when you run the iron over them and then create small dimples in your base. You don’t have to remove them entirely, just loosen them a little so you’re waxing a nice level base.
3. Get To Waxing
This is where you’ve got some decisions to make. First, choose a wax that best suits the conditions (e.g., temperature) you’re shredding in. You can never go wrong with a good all-temp wax. When applying wax keep in mind that your edge is the section of base that takes the most abuse, so it’s smart to use a harder wax along your edges. There are a couple different application techniques, but the idea is the same. You want an even coat of wax across the base.
4. Scrape It
After you’ve waxed your board, set it aside and let it cool for about a half hour or until it’s room temperature. Then get your scraper. Make sure you’re working with a sharp scraper, otherwise you’ll make the process harder on yourself. The most important thing when scraping is to make long smooth strokes. Short choppy scraping will hurt your cause. Keep it smooth, kid.
5. Brush Up
The point of the final brush is to remove any excess wax you might not have hit with your scraper. Don’t be afraid to really put some elbow grease into it, the idea is to expose the structure of your base, because the structure is what moves moisture, which cuts down on suction, and that’s what allows you to really haul ass.
“Put your hand under the topsheet to get a feel for how hot the board is getting. It should never be more than warm to the touch. The only way to really damage your base is to leave the iron sitting in one place. Don’t do that.” —Scott Sparks, Purl Wax Guru
Photography Nick Hamilton
Also check out How To Detune your board here
»
September 19th, 2008 at 5:55 am
im first
September 19th, 2008 at 6:09 am
do you recommend using all temperature wax for the middle of the board and low temperature wax on the edges?
September 19th, 2008 at 7:55 am
hey wheres the best place to get an iron?
September 19th, 2008 at 9:44 am
dakine makes a sweet waxing kit… Dogfunk.com has them fo sho
September 19th, 2008 at 9:44 am
dakine makes a sweet waxing kit… Dogfunk.com has them fo sho
September 19th, 2008 at 10:41 am
another personal tip is to wax your board a little thicker and over the edges at the end of the season and don’t scrape it till next season. this acts as a seal on your base that will prevent your edges from rusting due to storage in poor ventilated area’s or simple gashes and scratches. When your ready for next season simply reheat your base and remove that crust from it’s den and rejuvenate your board from hibernation.
September 19th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
if you dont know how to wax a board, dont snowboard, seriously
September 19th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
if you use a colder temp wax around your edges it’ll last longer for sure
September 19th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I second that notion
September 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
what is that thing in the last pic and where can i get one?
September 19th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
it’s a drill powered wax buffer plug into the end of any power drill. Snowboard Roto Brushes on Purlwax.com
September 20th, 2008 at 8:05 am
i hate siting in the dungeon doing wax jobs all day…i feel like a prostitute.
September 20th, 2008 at 11:50 am
i am a prostitute.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Kooks trying to tell you how to wax…..base cleaner is useless. The structure needs to be done before waxing. Purl wax….hahahahahahahahahahahaha! One Ball Jay is better than that shit and One Ball blows too.
September 21st, 2008 at 5:08 am
dude. i have seen candle wax outperform expensive flourocarbons. its all in how you butter your bread.
September 21st, 2008 at 9:14 am
Candle wax? I bet.
September 21st, 2008 at 4:59 pm
When I first got my Ride Timeless it had a structure to the base. That structure is long since gone. Can I have the structure cut back into the base? Where do I go to get that done?
September 21st, 2008 at 6:43 pm
nobody likes a douchebag
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:37 am
haha most people arent born with the instincts of how to wax a snowboard… you must be one of a kind. fspfpsfpsfpsfpspfps
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
hmmm, The structure needs to be done before waxing? Yeah man, you want to get your strucutre dialed at the beginning of the season or as conditions change dramatically but you definitely do not stone grind every time you wax. That’s a quick way to trash your board. By the way, OBJ does not suck either. Everybody makes good wax these days. It’s a matter of choosing the right wax for the right conditions. You’ll figure it out one of these days. The name is appropriate. Lameass.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
well that was interesting
September 25th, 2008 at 11:53 am
?? ??… ??? ??? ??????? ????: ????? ??????, ?? ???? ????
September 25th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
waxwell or 4ever try to catch the ol fat man …. cheap wax rules unless it’s free then it’s even better!!!!
October 1st, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I dig the wax from Wyoming called Bluebird. It’s an core riding company that has core riders backing it. And I ant talk’n bout no crip’s or blood’s sucker!
October 21st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
yeah bluebird for sure. plus that shit smells amazing. most factory waxs are bluebird anyways
October 26th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Yo, i just wanna give thanx for the tech articles, great info great presentation. My custom x will be ready for the shready, can’t wait for Bigsky and Moonlight to open. skadow!
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 am
Very helpfull how-to thank you!
November 11th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
?????? ??????, ?? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ?????
November 18th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
what should i use as a buffer? i heard cork works well, and apparently so does a kitchen sponge
November 24th, 2008 at 8:55 am
Wax it up thick and forget the scraping, by the third run your base is perfect. (unless its a powpow day)
November 25th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Take it to your local shop and see if they have a stone grinder. If they do your set if not find the closest shop with one.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Anything from cork to a kitchen brillo pad well do, pick your poison.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Purl wax is the bees knees!
November 27th, 2008 at 11:35 am
LOL
November 28th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
..are you retarded? seriously. oh no you’re just a moron.
November 30th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
does gulf wax work
it is use to make candles and canning
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I wouldn’t use gulf wax. Just get a block of hot wax that’s made for snowboarding. It doesn’t cost much.
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
thanks
December 25th, 2008 at 9:15 am
i just go with the old hair dryer method it works well for me.
December 26th, 2008 at 8:49 am
can you use a regular iron or do the holes mess up the base?
December 26th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
with the hot scrape, do i iron the base first or put the thin layer of wax on first? im confused someone explain a little more in depth
December 28th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
douche bag are you looking for a prostitute, seriously
December 30th, 2008 at 11:23 am
You want to put a layer of soft wax on your base first. This wax will sink into the pores of your base the deepest and allow any residue or contaminants to float to the surface where it can be scraped off. Much better method than using base cleaner. Base cleaner will clean out the gunk, but then gets trapped under the wax layers and dries your base out from the “inside out”.
Once you have scraped off that first layer, give it a good brushing and apply the next layer of wax. Since you start with a soft (warm temp) wax, it is ideal to build up through the waxes to an appropriate wax for the current conditions. By “Cycling” in your waxes, you will get the most durability and time out of your tune. Start with the hot scrape (warm), move on to the all temp, apply some cold wax, even go into the sub zero if you have the time. Then start back at the all temp and build you way up to the right wax for the conditions. If its warm out, you can just layer a couple coats of warm wax on it to finish off the process. It takes time. If you dont have the time or the patience, don’t sweat it. If you do, you will notice a difference. Passin suckas on cat tracks is nice!
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I’m a skater coming into the boarding world, and all I do to wax my board is rub wax across the deck evenly, now is waxing a snowboard this complex?
January 6th, 2009 at 1:11 am
I got given a wax kit as a present and havent done waxing before. The wax is in pellet form. do I just put some pellets on the board and melt them with an iron, as per all the instructions on the net, or are pellets made for a different type of application.
January 12th, 2009 at 10:47 am
is it ok to wax without an iron ?
January 15th, 2009 at 11:53 am
its ok to use rub on wax but it doesnt last very long, maybe one or two runs.
iron is the way to go and then rub on at the hill
January 27th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Don’t be a dick
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:54 pm
lets all get along kids
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
eh
February 6th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
THAT SI SOOOOOOOOO WRONG… YOU DO not SCRAPE ALL THE WAX OFF AT THE END!!!!!!! YOU LEAVE A THIN LAYER ON!!!!!
February 9th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Just started waxing my board this year and I got a Q:
After one day on my wax job I notice some cracking in spots (tips and under the bindings). Is this normal? Should I be scraping more off? (I feel like both times I’ve waxed I got almost all of it.)
Thanks.
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
is a clothing iron sketch?
February 26th, 2009 at 2:55 am
Dicks are yum!
February 26th, 2009 at 3:02 am
If the clothing iron has a teflon coating, yes. You want to use a clothing iron that has no coating on the hot side. I’m using a teflon-coated one and the teflon scrapes off and gets stuck in the hot wax. I ride a white board and now it has little specks of teflon here and there.
A good base grind will take it off, but I’m fucking lazy. It rides pretty well, so what do I care? Dudes are jocking me for my tight ass, not my clean board.
February 27th, 2009 at 1:25 am
“THAT SI SOOOOOOOOO WRONG… YOU DO not SCRAPE ALL THE WAX OFF AT THE END!!!!!!! YOU LEAVE A THIN LAYER ON!!!!!”
LETS ALL SHOUTTTT!
Thick or thin layer doesn’t really mater form the snow’s point of view now does it?
March 8th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Thick sticks and thin wins. It’s what’s absorbed into the base that really counts.
March 15th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
how do i wax my skis? skiing is dope
March 15th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
i like to ski
March 15th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
u all should try skiing
March 20th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
chris brown is not an abuser
March 20th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
from each other.
March 21st, 2009 at 6:00 am
You can use a regular iron and it won’t mess up the base, but your iron will work strangefully after a few waxs ( it will do some bubbles ). The best thing, if you don’t want to pay the price for a true waxing iron, is to get your old mom her old iron with no holes! I use this and it works very well!
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I am very happy that I found this site.
April 14th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
do you scrape all the wax off?
May 29th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Totally killer - how to - the banana is good but we all need a little wax there and there. See Lib Tech for example.
July 5th, 2009 at 3:51 am
How many times should you wax your board becuase its getting to expensive for me?
August 24th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Hi there I like your post
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