How to hot wax your board?

[someguy]

hey frosty, can you just go through the steps and equipment i'll need to hot wax a snowboard thanks.

[Josh]

…Im not frost, and ive never done this, nor do i plan too 🙂 (id just take it to a store)but try this:  From and thanks to about.comThere are four things you will absolutely need:    * Wax: be sure to buy ski or snowboard wax that is designed to be applied with a hot iron. There are plenty of choices, but a good all-temperature wax will work well in most snow conditions.    * Scraper: pick this up at your favorite board shop along with the wax. Plastic or metal scrapers are both fine, just avoid really wide scrapers that are sometimes marketed for snowboards – they don't scrape as well as the smaller ones.    * Iron: now might be a good time to invest in an iron designed especially for waxing skis and snowboards. These are smooth on the bottom and therefore apply a nice smooth coat of wax. Or you can go down to your nearest Salvation Army or Goodwill a

…Im not frost, and ive never done this, nor do i plan too 🙂 (id just take it to a store)but try this:  From and thanks to about.comThere are four things you will absolutely need:    * Wax: be sure to buy ski or snowboard wax that is designed to be applied with a hot iron. There are plenty of choices, but a good all-temperature wax will work well in most snow conditions.    * Scraper: pick this up at your favorite board shop along with the wax. Plastic or metal scrapers are both fine, just avoid really wide scrapers that are sometimes marketed for snowboards – they don't scrape as well as the smaller ones.    * Iron: now might be a good time to invest in an iron designed especially for waxing skis and snowboards. These are smooth on the bottom and therefore apply a nice smooth coat of wax. Or you can go down to your nearest Salvation Army or Goodwill and pick up a used household iron for a few bucks.    * Scotchbrite: these rough green pads are available at any grocery store next to the kitchen sponges.Some optional but helpful items:    * Base Cleaner: if your snowboard's base is dirty, clean it using a base cleaner (find this at your board shop) and a rag before you hot wax it.    * Vises: setting up a workbench makes tuning and waxing your board much easier. Vises are available that hold your snowboard in place while you work.Lets get started:1. DripPut down an old sheet or some newspaper to catch dripping wax. Then put your board base-up on your new vises (see optional items) or on some books.Plug in your iron and set it to a medium heat. It should be hot enough to readily melt the wax, but not so hot that the wax smokes. Hold the iron perpendicular to your snowboard with the pointed side down. Press the wax bar against the hot iron and hold it there. As the wax drips, move the iron up and down the base of your board until you have stripes of dripped wax 1 to 2 inches apart. Set the wax aside.2. IronNow iron in all that wax until the base of your board is fully covered. Keep the iron moving; leaving it in one area for too long can damage the snowboard.3. ScrapeTurn off the iron and wait 15 to 20 minutes for the wax to set and cool. Now grab the scraper and scrape off any excess wax in a nose to tail motion. Scraping away all the wax may sound counter-productive, until you realize that a hot wax actually opens up the pores in a snowboard's base where you want wax to go. Excess wax will only slow you down.4. BuffAfter scraping, rub the scotchbrite pad in a nose to tail motion to take off the last of the wax and give your board a finishing touch. You are now ready to ride.

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[someguy]

thanks, but other people have told me to rub the wax on first then just quickly hold it to the iron and rub it on then you go over it with the iron

[Josh]

I don't get what you mean. 

[Frosty]

thanks, but other people have told me to rub the wax on first then just quickly hold it to the iron and rub it on then you go over it with the iron

There are two different methods for hot waxing.  One is the DRIP method.  The other is the crayon method.  The crayon method is my favorite, but less common.  With Crayoning, you use less wax and don't even need an iron (I use a propane torch and cork instead), but you have to wax more frequently.  The Drip method is the most popular and I am doing up an article on it and will post a link to it here soon 🙂

[Josh]

Lol.  That (crayon method) sounds dangerous…..

[Travis Hightower]

Frostys artical on waxing is really good. Kudos!Twsnow does a really really long in depth artical if you need more information athttp://www.transworldsnowboarding.com/snow/howto/article/0,26719,246590,00.htmlBut really thats a full winded version of the post above.I personally like the crayon method as well. I dont think you have to buff as much as you dowith a full on drip method. But! Alot of people recomend that you drip wax atleast oncea season to make sure  your board is COMPLETELY covered.Also, i dont know if this actually helps or not, but when i buff it out i try to make it look as ifthere isnt any wax on the board at all. And when you look at your brand new base, and howit looks after a drip wax (before buffing) you'll know what I mean.

Frostys artical on waxing is really good. Kudos!Twsnow does a really really long in depth artical if you need more information athttp://www.transworldsnowboarding.com/snow/howto/article/0,26719,246590,00.htmlBut really thats a full winded version of the post above.I personally like the crayon method as well. I dont think you have to buff as much as you dowith a full on drip method. But! Alot of people recomend that you drip wax atleast oncea season to make sure  your board is COMPLETELY covered.Also, i dont know if this actually helps or not, but when i buff it out i try to make it look as ifthere isnt any wax on the board at all. And when you look at your brand new base, and howit looks after a drip wax (before buffing) you'll know what I mean. I like my base really really clean.

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[Frosty]

Nice link.  You are right, a base that is ready to ride is clean from even visible surface wax; and remember do not use anything to clean the base other than a proper “base cleaner”.

[Sucki-T]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDRoKCAFtX8    .I got some good pointers from this guy here.

[Frosty]

Great points in that video!  Especially…Deburr first, loosen binding screws, don't let the wax smoke, check the temperature periodically, let wax set a long time before scraping, scrape all wax off the base surface. GREAT STUFF!!!

[snowbaby1]

can you just go to your local board store and get it waxed? around how much is that?  thanks

[rowan]

You should be able to go to any reputable local shop for a wax.  I prolly have the wrong attitude but I'm not really interested in learning how to do this stuff myself.  I pay $20 for a “quick tune” which includes hot wax and edge maintenance, and 38 for a “full tune” which includes base grind, ptex, edge maint., stone grind and hot wax.  Next season I plan on doing a package,  4 quick tunes and 2 full tunes for $120.  I'm not sure if this is a good deal or not, but the guys at the shop do an awesome job, so the $$ is definitely worth it to me. 

[Frosty]

It you got the funds, I recommend having a shop do it.  Those guys do this stuff every day and it is very technical work.  I used to work at a shop moons ago and got really good at it.  I must admit that now I suck at doing major repairs (p-tex drip fills and base welds) although I can still do a pretty sweet wax job.  I guess it all depends on your experience level and how much time/money you can afford.  I took my old Ride Control rock board to the shop back in November cuz it needed some major work done on it and I was really glad to see the guys there did an AWESOME JOB fixing it up.  It was about $65.  It normally would have been like $40 but it needed a couple base welds.  Besides, there is nothing like a fresh STONE GRIND texture finish on a board!

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