I bought a snowboard last season but I never waxed my snowboard before. I was told that I should wax the snowboard. I am going tomorrow to buy the things I need. I am going to the snow for 8 days next month. How often should I need to wax my snowboard?

The edges near the front and back are rusted. Is there anything I can do to get it off or do I need to get it fixed? Thanks.

If you're buying items tomorrow, dont buy an iron from a snowboard store, go to an op shop and buy a normal secondhand one for $10.
I wax every 5ish days to keep my board fast and edge every 15 or so days of riding. http://WWW.SNOWBOARDADDICTION.COM and buy the freestyle pack it's def worth it. There is a whole section with step by step instructions on how to wax/tune your board properly and all the tools needed.

Nev's freestyle program is awesome, I highly recommend it. You can see a few of his videos in the freestyle section of the website.

The Boardworld waxing guide can be found here:

http://www.boardworld.com.au/snow/content/category/snowboard-waxing-guide/

Wax generally won't last for more than 3-4 days. After that time you can be sure close to all the wax has been removed from your base. If you want to maintain a well waxed base I would suggest you wax ever 3 days or so. If there is fresh snow and the next day is a powder day, I will wax my board overnight regardless of when the last time I waxed.

Unless the rust is very abd, you should be able to get most of it off with a gummy stone or diamond stone. Diamond stones are best for this but they can be expensive. Most the rust along your edge will be removed just by riding your board, but I would still recommend you remove what you can without damaging the edge. If you are unsure I would suggest you take your snowboard to your local store for a quick inspection. Please also make sure you storage wax your baord at the end of this season, to prevent it from rusting again.

On the rust issue, I had a bit of surface rust on my edges. I used a sharpening stone, which isnt designed at all for snowboarding but it did the trick (most of the rust was on the nose and tail so I had no chance of ruining the effective edge). To minimise the amount of rust build up Ive heard of a few storage techniques people of used.

1. When hot waxing cover the edges with wax. For parts of the edge hard to get to you melt the block of wax a bit and then wipe the block against the edge.
2. cover your edges with vaseline.
3. apply WD40 to the edges but be careful not to get it on the base, apparently it can damage it.
After getting some rust off I used WD40 on the edges before storing it. I just used a bit of paper towel and made sure none got on the base (the board was waxed at this stage so the base was probably protected anyway).

Also already mentioned - riding your board is meant to get rid of some of the rust too.

Anyone else used any of the above methods or different ones to remove/stop rust build up?

Check out the storage waxing article I wrote...

http://www.boardworld.com.au/snow/content/category/snowboard-storage-waxing/

I wouldn't use WD40, ever. With proper maintentence and a good storage wax there should never be a need for it.

I just wax and dont scrape at the end of the season.
I'd like to say I do this every year, but I dont.

snowslider - 08 July 2009 12:26 AM

I just wax and dont scrape at the end of the season.
I'd like to say I do this every year, but I dont.

That is a storage wax in a nutshell. Just make sure all the edges get covered also.

Thanks for the advice everyone that helps a lot.

I wonder if it depends on the wax you use?

I try to wax my board often and can notice the difference by the third day. It just gets slow and sticky which I really don't like.

Anyone use Swix? the pink one? I find that to be awesome wax!

Try to avoid using vaseline or wd40. Not only does it get into the base but its messy, greasy and attracts dirt and grit. Technicians hate it. The best thing do do as mentioned is to apply a storage wax. Just remember to apply when the board/edges are completely dry and you store your board in a dry area during the off season. this should help in preventing rust.

SpeedyPB - 08 July 2009 09:23 PM

I wonder if it depends on the wax you use?

I try to wax my board often and can notice the difference by the third day. It just gets slow and sticky which I really don't like.

Anyone use Swix? the pink one? I find that to be awesome wax!

Try the Fluro wax from Swix next time. From my experience it is a better gliding wax. You can also get it in a rub on form which can fit into your pocket to apply whenever the snow gets a little sticky and slow. this will keep the board gliding well until you can get your next iron on wax.

I've found that rub-on waxes dont last but only a few runs.

I've seen some just take the cube of wax and rub it all over the base, that works for about half a run.

Yeah they don't last long. But its better than nothing whilst up on the hill.

dont wax its awesome... just tough it out... its what real men do...

or use scented candles every 2-3 minutes.

but seriously people wax like every 3 days?

man i haven't waxed in about 100 days of riding.