How To: Wax Your Board

bengal

September 21 2009
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4 comments

A Simple Waxing
How To Keep Your Base Gliding Fast
Early-season ice and human-made snow will scrape the wax off your board like a cheese grater, but a simple waxing here and there will keep you riding high rather than stuck in the flats. Here’s how it’s done. <!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

—B.G.

Drip
First, make sure your board is at room temperature and dry, otherwise you’ll have a hard time getting your base to absorb the wax. Next, grab an iron and dial it to a temperature that melts the wax without smoking, and begin dripping wax on your base until you have a good dotted array (one drop per square inch or two). Unless you’re riding where it’s bitter cold or slushy warm, an all-temperature wax is fine.
Note: Don’t plan on using the iron on clothes again, and if it has holes, avoid dripping wax in them because it burns the wax and shorts out the iron.

Smear
Begin smoothing out the drops and working the wax into your base. Be careful not to leave the iron in one place for too long or you’ll melt your base. Let your board cool completely before moving on to the next step-pop in a shred vid and get hyped.

Scrape
A sharpened, tuning-specific plastic scraper will make this step easier and cleave clean slices of wax off. If you’re in a pinch, use a car ice scraper or other random, sharp-edged plastic objects, but avoid metal scrapers as they can cut up your base. Then, with your tool of choice, begin to scrape the wax off your base in small tip-to-tail sweeps. Scrape ’til it’s all gone and move on.

Buff
Lastly, give ‘er a clean polish by buffing out any rough spots with a green Brillo or Scotch-Brite pad. Make sure to rub the base of your board from tip to tail. Your board will now have a glossy sheen that’s fast underfoot and ready to rip, slip ‘n’ ride!