How To Wax A Snowboard Base

If you have made the decision to buy your own snowboard, you will want to look after it as best you can. Part of looking after a board is giving it a regular waxing. The reason you wax the board is not to increase grip like waxing surfboards, it is to make the board more slippery and faster on the slopes. The wax actually seeps into the board’s base when applied. When you ride on the snow the wax actually causes a melting effect, so essentially you end up planing on a micro-thin water layer. Here is the guide you need to waxing down your snowboard

Remove old wax. You need to make sure the board is clean and the base is exposed before you apply new wax. This can be done by scraping it down with a plastic utensil using long strokes. You may want to use a hair-dryer to soften the wax and base cleaner which you can get from a snowboards shop. Do not however use a metal scraper as this can damage the base.

Applying the wax. Take an iron and set the temperature so that it just melts the new wax slowly. This is usually the same temperature you would use to iron cotton. Touch the wax against the irons base when you have the optimum heat and drip it around the bottom side of board. Now, to disperse the wax around you’ll need to place the iron right on the base and smooth it out.

Finishing. After around 30-35min cooling time, you can now work on finishing the board. This basically involves buffing the base down with a clean cloth until it gives off a good shine. Finally, take a hard-bristled brush to the wax and take off any thick wax areas, then buff one last time. Now your ready for a little extreme sports action