Wax a Snowboard
If people are zooming past you on the slopes and you're shredding as hard as you can, your snowboard might be overdue for a good waxing. You can tell if your snowboard needs waxing by the appearance of white spots on the base (or bottom) of the board. You should generally wax your board about every third time you hit the slopes. The process takes about an hour from start to finish (with drying time) and can be easily completed in your home. Follow the steps below to pick up the pace and start shredding some powder.
Contents
Steps
Getting Started
- Loosen the bolts on your bindings. Use a screwdriver to loosen the bolts on your board and bindings in order to prevent divots from forming in the board when you run the iron over the base. You do not have to unscrew the bolts completely, just create a level base. This is because the tight screws make a small dimple on the board area and you want a smooth board ares.
- Secure the snowboard in a well-ventilated area with the base facing up. You need a flat surface preferably covered in rubber to prevent the board from sliding.
- Get an iron made specifically for waxing your snowboard. You can purchase an iron from a snowboard shop. Find an iron with a wide range of temperature settings.
- While you can use a regular clothes iron to wax your snowboard, be advised that you will only be able to use the iron for waxing after you use it once. If you try to use it to iron your clothes, you will ruin them.
- Additionally, the holes in clothes irons can make melting the wax onto a smooth surface difficult.
- Choose a wax that best suits the weather conditions you're riding in. The various temperatures are hot, cold, warm, etc. You can always use an all-temperature wax if you are not sure which type is best for the conditions you are riding in. A cold temperature wax will allow your board to go faster in cold conditions than a warm-weather wax would, for example.
Waxing Your Snowboard
- Clean your snowboard. Use base cleaner and a rag to remove dirt and debris from the snowboard. You can purchase base cleaner from any snowboard shop.
- Any non-polar solvent or citrus oil will work fine for cleaning your board. Some of these include: Orange degrease solvent, Citra Kleen, citric-naptha wax remover, lighter fluid, paint thinner, and kerosene. Use caution when working with hazardous materials and do not smoke around flammable products like kerosene and lighter fluid.
- If your snowboard is extremely dirty and in need of a deep clean, you can swipe the hot wax iron over the bottom of the board, rub a thin layer of wax on the board, and immediately scrape it off using a scraper tool.
- The hot scrape technique deeply cleans your board and removes any trapped debris.
- It is often a good idea to hot scrape your board during or after the spring season as plant debris start to creep onto the snowboard runs.
- Hold the hot iron above the base of your snowboard and press the wax into it. Check the wax packaging to make sure that your iron is set at the correct temperature. If no temperature is provided, just be sure that the wax doesn't start smoking when you rub it on your iron. If smoking occurs, turn the temperature down. The temperature should be lower for softer/warmer wax and higher for harder/colder wax.
- Drip the wax evenly across your board. Move the iron around as the wax melts so that it drips thoroughly across the bottom of the board. Start by outlining the edges in wax and then filling in the center.
- Apply the iron directly to the snowboard base and spread the wax evenly across the board. The wax should be a bit thicker around the edges of the board, however. Be sure to keep the iron moving continuously as you spread the wax. Avoid keeping the iron stationary as this can cause damage to your snowboard.
- Once you've spread a thin layer evenly over the base, allow the wax to cool for 30 minutes. Make sure the room your board is drying in is well-ventilated to assist in the drying process.
- After the wax is dry, use a scraper to remove excess wax and smooth any bumps. Hold your scraper at a 45-degree angle and scrape in long stripping motions from the tip to the tail. Do not scrape horizontally across the short length of the board. You will remove most of the wax during this step, but don't be alarmed. Your board absorbs much of the hot wax and a thin layer produces the best performance.
- Use a medium-hard nylon bristle brush to create structure. Brush from the tip to the tail to structure the base with long, vertical grooves. These small grooves encourage forward momentum when you're riding.
- Use a cloth to polish the base. A shammy works well for buffing a newly waxed surface. Buff in small, circular motions.
- Place the drop cloth, sheet, or news papers under your work area prior to setting everything up.
Things You'll Need
- Base cleaner and cloth
- Wax
- Snowboard iron
- Wax scraper
- Medium-bristled brush
Tips
- Excess wax can actually create more friction and slow you down on the mountain. Be sure to only apply a thin layer of wax.
- For best results, use wax designed for the type of snow (soft and slushy, cold and hard) you'll be riding on.
- Your snowboard will absorb the necessary amount of wax when you apply heat. When scraping, do not be worried about removing too much wax.
- Run your fingernail across the base; if any wax is on your fingernail keep on scraping.
Warnings
- Once you use wax on an iron, don't use it on clothes.
- If you choose to use kerosene or any flammable product as a base cleaner instead of traditional citrus base cleaner (kerosene being a far less expensive option), do not smoke while waxing the board.
- Be careful when working with the iron and hot wax; not only can the wax burn skin, it can damage clothes and carpets.
- Work in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhaling potentially harmful fumes.
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