Waxing guide

Author: Jeremy Sheridan - stmonline.com.au

Waxing your snowboard will significantly increase the performance of your ride. A properly waxed base will make your snowboard faster and enable you to carry momentum for longer; less getting stuck on the flats or losing your speed in powder. Less unstrapping and more riding equals more fun.

First we are going to talk about the different base types and what that means for waxing. There are two different types of bases - extruded and sintered.

Extruded bases are cheaper and easier to maintain. However they don’t absorb wax efficiently and they don’t perform as well as a sintered base. For this reason, waxing an extruded base isn’t entirely necessary and a rub on wax will be sufficient.

A sintered base is porous and physically absorbs wax into the pores of the base material. Sintered bases are faster, maintain momentum a lot better, and are more resistant to damage.

For the purpose of this article I will be referring to sintered bases.

What you will need

Wax

We can split wax into two main types; hydrocarbon waxes and fluoro waxes. Hydrocarbon waxes are the most common. They are also the cheaper of the two options. Fluoro waxes have fluorine added to the wax. Fluorine repels water and therefore is significantly faster. If speed is important to you I would recommend using a good fluoro wax. 

Iron

The best irons to use are those specifically designed for waxing snowboards. They have no holes in the base, and they have an adjustable temperature dial. You can buy a snowboard iron at your local snowboard store. If you can’t afford to buy a specific snowboard iron, any normal iron will do the job. Just be sure to use one with an adjustable temperature dial. 

Wax scraper

A wax scraper can be purchased from your local snowboard store for approximately $15.

Base cleaner (optional)

You can buy base cleaner from your local snowboard store.

Scotch Brite pad (optional)

These can be purchased at any grocery store for approximately $2.

Wax brush (optional)

These can be purchased at your local snowboard store. 

Tuning vices (optional)

If you are going to do a lot of tuning yourself, I would recommend investing in a set of tuning vices. These can be purchased at your local snowboard store.

Waxing guide

• Set your board on something stable with the base facing upwards.


• Heat up the iron. Touch the block of wax onto the base of the iron. Adjust the temperature so the iron is hot enough to melt the wax.


• The wax is going to melt and start dripping. If there is any smoke coming off the iron, the temperature is too high and needs to be turned down.


• Drip the melted wax onto the base of your snowboard. Try to get even coverage over the whole board. Cover all areas of the board. The idea is to use enough wax to spread over the whole base, but not much more.


• Take the hot iron and place it directly onto the base of the snowboard. Keeping the iron moving at all times, slowly melt all the wax on the snowboard. Melt one area at a time, and spread the wax evenly. Make sure all areas are covered. If you need to drip more wax on a certain area do so.


• The heat generated by the iron will open the pores of the sintered base, and wax will be absorbed into the base. You should be able to feel warmth coming through the topsheet of your snowboard.


• Leave the board for at least half an hour to cool down. Ideally leave if for a couple of hours or even overnight. As the board cools the pores of the base will close, and squeeze out the excess wax. The only wax which will make your base fast is the wax which has been absorbed into the base.


• Secure your board with base facing up. Place the wax scraper on an angle and using firm pressure, scrape all the wax off the base. You need to remove all the wax, so keep scraping until no more wax comes off base. As discussed earlier, only wax which has been absorbed will make your base fast. Any wax left on the base will actually slow you down. Once all the wax has been scraped off, your base should look smooth and feel slick.


• Your board is now ready to ride.

Alternate technique

This is an alternative method to dripping wax onto your board. The technique uses less wax and puts an even layer of wax onto the board.

• Touch the block of wax onto the iron for a second. Take the block of wax and wipe the melted side across the board. This will smear a thin and even coating of wax on your base. Touch the block of wax on the iron again and smear wax on a new area. Repeat this until the whole board is covered. Then iron your board and scrape as usual.

Optional steps

Base cleaner

Once in a while it is a good idea to clean your base. Your base can become clogged with dirt. This will interfere with wax absorption and decrease performance. If your base is visibly dirty, before you wax your board give it a clean with base cleaner. Dab a little bit of base cleaner onto a clean rag and clean your base. The base cleaner will remove all the dirt and your base will appear clean and fresh. It isn’t necessary to clean your base every time you wax.

Scotch Brite pad

Use the Scotch Brite pad after you scrape off the wax. The pad is used to remove fine bits of wax the scraper missed. The pad will also buff up your base and give it a slicker feel. Use firm strokes from tip to tail until the base is nice and slick.

Wax brush

The wax brush is used to put a fine structure into your base. The brush leaves microscopic channels in the structure of your base. These fine channels allow water to run off your board more efficiently, therefore making your base faster. Use long, firm strokes, from tip to tail.

If you have any questions, ask one of our tuning technicians on the Boardworld Forums.