RobBright 35 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Hey, I guess a few people on here have waxed their own snowboard or skis. If so, what wax do you use and what tips would you give? I ask, because I went to take my second board for waxing, and was going to be charged 10,000yen for the privilege. The shop had DIY kits for the same price which got me thinking... Link to post Share on other sites
akitapow 1 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 DUUUUUUUDE! 10,000yen!!! damn thats NOT right...if they are charging that price just for waxing then thats WHACK! haha Maybe they are doing other stuff too like sharpening edges etc etc?!?! but still even with other maintenance thats still pricey. OK, I'll stop bitchin bout the price haha but you are right, you should TOTALLY start waxing yourself! YOU CAN DO IT! Some people claim it takes a lifetime to perfect the art of waxing boards/skis, which I think is probably true! and I'm definitely trying to improve my skills/technique which I think at this point is "mama" but does the trick, and saves me a shit ton of money each season. A real easy way to learn the basics of waxing is to youtube it! (sounds corny, i know) but there are TONS of videos on it, and alot of them are professionals doing a walk through of each process. Watch a couple videos, everyone might have a slightly different technique, but for the most part they should all be similar. So just pick and choose, and try it out! 2 tips from me would be to always keep the iron movin! (obvious, you dont wanna leave it in one spot, it can mess up ur board) and next would be to NOT use tons of wax! You will get the hang of it the more you wax, but pretty much everyones first wax job, they melt on wayyyyyyyyyyy to much wax, haha which makes it crazy when it comes to scrapping. Hope this helps? I'm def no pro, so if anyone has anything to add def drop some knowledge! woot! Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Yeah You Tube taught me. I even use a normal clothes iron yes I think the trick is to not use too much wax as scraping iy off can take ages and the wax is expensive. I bought my wax and ptex from ebay. I enjoy it as it is part of the preparation for the trip. seemore Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I just spat my coffee, too. 10,000 yen?!? Yikes... I do my own skis and I do it a little differently....same results though. I cold rub the wax stick so there is a thin layer although some small bumps of wax will build here and there. Then I hit it with a heat gun just enough to see the layer melt to a sheen and back to dull in a second or two. Scrape.....it's a thin layer so there isn't all that much shaved off wax to deal with getting all over everything. After making sure there are no bits of scraped wax...hit it again very briefly with the heat gun and buff it out.. Done. 5 minutes each ski and much prefer this way to using an iron. Caveat....If you are a complete moron without a shred of common sense you "can" damage the base of your skis/board using this method. Even this guys is a little too close with the nozzle IMHO.... I put on the wax a bit more aggresively and scrape then cork and buff. http://www.sentex.net/~mwandel/winter/snowboard_waxing.html Link to post Share on other sites
seemore 66 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 That looks fine as long as it goes on/in. Has anyone used the aerosol sprays and are they worth it? Seemore Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Scraping is pretty messy so do it outside on a non windy day. Flakes of wax stick to things and don't vacuum or brush up easily. Scraping into a big cardboard box with a plastic liner is one way to minimize the mess. Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 That looks fine as long as it goes on/in. Has anyone used the aerosol sprays and are they worth it? Seemore I use it on my wife's and kid's skis. Its the aerosol with the little pad on the end for application. Work in on quickly to get an even layer and really rub it out. Works fine.... Link to post Share on other sites
akitapow 1 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 to answer the aerosol question, obviously its NOT going to be better than hot waxing da gnarstick and I doubt they advertise it as being a total replacement. I think its main purpose is for that "quick" fix when you just rolled up to the mtn and notice ur edges are a bit beat. In that case by all means spray dat shit on (there are also deodorant like sticks too) and hit it! but yea, hot wax is the way to go! and seemore, I also agree that its a great aspect of prepping for a trip! kinda creates that special bond between man/woman and board. not to sound too cheezy, but its true! haha Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Simple way I use but not each time only when I really want to get my skis super smooth, I use wet and dry paper starting with a 400-600 grit, make sure to soak the paper in warm water, then sand the board or skis down with it using plenty of water. Then once it feels smooth use a really fine grit 1200 or finer again with plenty of warm water, keep sanding until smooth as glass. Shouldn't take long 5 mins tops. Rinse off wipe dry, slap on some quick wax using the aerosol can with the sponge on the top and your good to go! Slippery as hell and nice and fast! The reason I do this I can't be assed to spend loads of time hot waxing my skis every few times, and this works almost as well doesn't last so long though especially around this area with the nice hard snow we got, but easy to wax. I don't sand each time of course, just now and again when the skis get a bit chewed up. Forgot to mention you can also very lightly sand the wax down once dry using a 1800 grit wet and dry, it will be even more smooth! Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Some tips for waxing your board properly: - Make sure you have a good work space. I do mine outside now because I find it next to impossible not to get wax everywhere. - Before putting a hot iron to your board loosen the bindings (you can take them right off too if you want) - Make sure you get the old wax off completely. Use wax remover as per instructions but then give it some time to evaporate before applying your wax - Two methods to applying wax; drip and crayon (I prefer crayon because there is a lot less wax to scrape in the end but it is much harder to do if you are just learning how to wax your board). Once you get the wax on leave it until it hardens completely. I usually wait several hours but less is probably fine. - Scrape the board from tip to tail. You don't have to put your back into it! I use a ski scraper rather than a board one because the big board ones are impossible to apply pressure evenly across it's entire length. The smaller scraper will let you remove the wax much more evenly. I never use metal scrapers because you can damage your board if you don't know what you are doing... or even if you do know what you are doing Run your bare hand down the board once or twice to find any imperfections. - Finishing touches are using a brush to coursely score the wax and then running a scouring pad (the green kitchen kind) from tip to tail. You don't have to do this last part but it's important in order to reduce the friction between you board and the snow (increases speed) Crayon method: If you decide to go this route there are a few things you need to know: - any iron will work (the one I use I pulled out of the trash a few years ago) if it's the type that has holes in it try to avoid melting the wax directly into them if you are using the drip method!) - for crayoning you don't need as hot an iron as if you are dripping the wax (if you ever see whisps of smoke coming from the wax or iron it's too hot! don't breathe that stuff! run away!!) - lightly warm the wax for a second or two (it doesn't take much time) and then literally use it like a crayon but rub it in circles (not back and forth) to ensure you evenly distribute the wax. Once you've done about 10-15cms of the length of your board run the iron over it to melt the wax into the board. This way you can see if you are using too much or not. The same thing applies to dripping the wax onto the board. Don't do the whole thing at once or you will almost certainly end up with too much wax which means you'll be scraping forever. I usually wax my board about every three times I use it (more often if the conditions haven't been good). I like using Swix wax but if you can match the wax to the conditions you'll be a much happier camper... The wax usually has a description of a 'best use' on it somewhere. The basics (for me): - snowboard stand (clamps onto my work bench) which seemed expensive but I've found all kind of uses for it over the years. - wax remover - iron (you don't need a special one for this) - wax (duh) - plastic ski scraper (you'll eventually need to replace this but it's less dangerous than a metal one) - brush - scouring pad (I'm probably forgetting something but I think that's it) Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Everyone seems to mention wax, but is there any special brand or type or quality of wax I should be looking out for? Space isn't an issue, and got lots of blue sheeting to collect the wax. Just in case. Link to post Share on other sites
norcal 5 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I did my second job on y new board(third wax job ever) and saw some wax cracks after snowboarding yesterday . Guess I need to melt it a bit longer...? I read its hard to do a BAD wax job though. Thanks for the writeup, good stuff! Link to post Share on other sites
Ross 4 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Man when you buy your wax get the one with the temp rating for the area you are sliding in.I can do it so it not two hard u tube's the way to go. Link to post Share on other sites
Thundercat 60 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Like I said, Swix wax. I often use the Swix HF Violet -2C - -8C because it's not too cold around here (Blue one is better in colder conditions). But like I said, you should try to match to the conditions you are riding in. I sometimes use another brand too but can't remember the name. It's starts with an H and is Scandinavian sounding like 'Holmstrom' or something... Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Holmenkol... and that's the set I've been using for years. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Well I usually rise around yuzawa/hakuba area and those places seem to be within that temperature range. perhaps a stupid question but why does the temperature range of the wax affect the ride? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 its well easy to wax it yourself, I just use a regular iron. I'm kinda lazy as well so usually i only do a hot wax once a season and then use rub on wax throughout to smooth up the board. You can even use a hairdryer (obviously I use my girlfriend's!) to help melt the rub on wax. Let it dry again and then buff away with the green kitchen pad thingy. Those spray ones are just like furniture polish, a quick fix when on mountain, give it a quick buff and off you pop Link to post Share on other sites
norcal 5 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I bought a waxing kit online for around $100, came with an iron, edge tuner, file, metal & plastic scraper, stone, and a wax bar good for about 5 wax jobs. Save your money and get a kit. Well, you don't HAVE to get one, but I did b/c I was ordering my bindings at the time. Do you guys prefer scraping & base cleaner or hot waxing your boards/skis when you clean them? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I think you should save your dough, instead of buying a wax-iron for 8k, go to Bic camera and get 2k regular iron.....does the same job Link to post Share on other sites
Chriselle 158 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Follow Panhead-Pete around to all the fleamarkets in Tokyo.....cheapy irons galore. I use a heat gun only because I use it all the time for my work so..... Link to post Share on other sites
Kansaiash 6 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Ive only just started waxing my board myself too. I find it much easier to apply the hot wax inside my house in a heated room. It makes it easier to melt the wax evenly across my board. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 What BM said. Base wax iron at the beginning of the season. Use tube wax for the day. Converted to Organic stuff this season. (I mentioned this last season) Don´t like Fluorites getting into the ground water from ski wax. I like the idea of non toxic environmentally friendly wax. Since we are not racing in a comp ... As for the feed back : 1) Pro : Very easy to apply and it doesn´t smell. Spread it thin and leave it to dry. Con : It takes a bit longer to dry. 2) Pro : It slides very well on hard pack, Con: Not as slippery on powder Subjective This is a Holmenkol natural ski wax (tube). I am comparing to a Toko (silver) All seasons (tube) As for the Toko. It stinks. I have to hold my breath. I have to rub it with a rug after application to smooth it. It won´t slide if you don´t rubb. Link to post Share on other sites
dyna8800 3 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Dominator Zoom. Graphite if your base is black. Temperature specific waxes if you actually measure snow temperature or are willing to switch up your blend depending on the slopes. Fluorinated wax if you can afford it. BTW, an actual ski/snowboard wax iron has much better temperature control and won't smoke off your wax like a regular clothes iron might. Also, a regular clothes iron frequently has holes in order to steam the fabric. But once you use the cheapo iron, never again use it for clothes!!! If you want to borrow a stand, let me know...or you can build your own. Link to post Share on other sites
dyna8800 3 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 That looks fine as long as it goes on/in. Has anyone used the aerosol sprays and are they worth it? Seemore Those are good for a run or two. Make sure to cork the wax in for decent results. Better to crayon on wax and then brush it in. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Dominator Zoom. Graphite if your base is black. Temperature specific waxes if you actually measure snow temperature or are willing to switch up your blend depending on the slopes. Fluorinated wax if you can afford it. BTW, an actual ski/snowboard wax iron has much better temperature control and won't smoke off your wax like a regular clothes iron might. Also, a regular clothes iron frequently has holes in order to steam the fabric. But once you use the cheapo iron, never again use it for clothes!!! If you want to borrow a stand, let me know...or you can build your own. not true!! I currently use the iron I used last season, for ironing my clothes.....makes em nice and waterproof! only joking....I do use the same iron but I haven't used it for wax this year and it took ages of having it on to make sure all the wax had dripped off......do get another cheapo iron Link to post Share on other sites
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