Snowboard 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 flat area or losing speed in powder. Less unstrapping and more riding means more fun on your snowboard.
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.
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 snowboard 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 snowboard, covering all areas of the base. 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 base, and wax will be absorbed directly into the base. You should be able to feel warmth coming through the topsheet of your snowboard.
- Leave the snowboard 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. Only the which has been physically absorbed into the base will make your snowboard fast.
- Secure your snowboard with base facing up. Place the wax scraper on an angle and using firm pressure, scrape off all the wax on the base. You need to remove all the wax, so keep scraping until no more wax comes off. As mentioned above, only wax which has been absorbed will make your base fast. Any wax left on the surface of the base will actually slow you down. Once all the wax has been scraped off, your base should look smooth and feel slick.
- Your snowboard 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 the base of your snowboard thoroughly. The base can become clogged with dirt, which interferes with wax absorption and decreases performance. If the base is visibly dirty, give it a good clean with base cleaner prior to waxing your snowboard. Dab a little bit of base cleaner onto a clean cloth and clean the base by firmly rubbing the moist cloth on the base. This process will remove all the dirt and grime out of your base and it 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 the tuning technicians on the Boardworld Forums.
