Waxing questions

[SomeSnowboarder 0]

Sorry, a couple stupid questions. I've always had the guys in the ski shop wax my board for me, but now that I've been going quite a bit more regularly, the 800 yen a pop is starting to add up, so I'm going to start doing the job myself.

 

How necessary is it to use the "remover" spray to remove the old wax before applying new stuff? Is this only if you'll be applying a type of wax different from what's already on there, or do I still need to do it even if I'm just applying a fresh coat of the same stuff?

 

The shop near me sells two types of "All Snow" wax--Fluoro Wax and Silicone Wax. What's the difference (besides one being yellow and the other clear)?

 

Buffing--Foreigners all tell me to use a kitchen pad, Japanese people all tell me to use a cork. Does it matter?

 

Thanks guys.

[Kumapix 0]

I'm no bx racer who needs the fastest possible ride but here are my pointers:

-you don't need a wax remover. If your base gets really grungy then wax, scrape then wax & scrape again.

-kitchen pad is 150 yen i think. You don't need cork.

-I just finally bought wax in japan. I had a stash of allround wax i brought from canada which did the job. Now they're telling me fluoro wax is all I need. I think the colour you want is pink - allround.

-check online for waxing instructions. I've seen tons of good how-to's. Google it.

-Unless you're racing or your mountain has flat spots you don't really need to do perfect wax jobs everytime you go. For hot wax the average is every 3 days riding but you can go way longer. Just wait til your base gets 'furry'.

I'm lazy so all I used to do was rub the wax by hand onto the board and iron it in. No scraping!

[quattro 1]

Try this site it has lots of good tips and pointers.

http://www.tognar.com/tips_tricks_information_ski_snowboard_waxing_tuning_repair_tools.html

 

Wax remover will clean down ito the pours of the p-tex. Depends on how dirty your bases get. I generally will use it twice a season. Plenty of ventalation is needed.

 

Usally a good all temp hydrocarbon wax is all you need. Loflorocarbon waxes are generally more expensive.

[Ezorisu 0]

Yeah, don't worry about remover unless your base is visibly dirty, or you have just filed your edges, in which case there will be little metal bits everywhere that you don't want becoming embedded in your P-Tex.

 

Cork is usually for buffing in wax that you have rubbed on, so if you are ironing, forget the cork. Do scrape and brush though.

[snowboard 0]

I never use cork, as Eroizu said above.

I'm pretty lazy as well, I get my sports shop friend to get it done for me

[marnix 0]

Cork is much more efficient with wax. If you want to use hi-fluor I would suggest cork, after applying a few layers of base-wax with iron.

 

But in general just get some alround wax and borrow a good iron from someone or look for a second hand non-steam regular iron (don't set it too hot)

[IIIII 2]

How often do you do this?

[damian 0]

My Waxing seems to be letting me down. Yesterday I didn't get the performance I wanted after an extensive waxing session. Perhaps I am scrapping too much off (I scrape until there is pretty much none left, theory being that it is the wax in the pores that counts, rather than on the surface)

[Kumapix 0]

maybe try different wax?

[marnix 0]

After scraping try brushing a bit to open it up.

you might have scraped so good that the surface is completely flat on wet/old snow this can suck your board onto the snow.

[damian 0]

Thanks Sanno - I do use a stiff bush after scraping but perhaps not enough, I certainly cant see any structure pattern that I created..

 

After I have scraped and bushed I am lucky if I can scrape any wax off with my fingernail. Have I removed too much?

 

I just read that Togna site for the first time. Info overload! Lots of stuff to digest.

 

I was using 'all purpose' Toko wax on the weekend. Snow surface temp was pretty cold, likely -10C to -15C

[Kumapix 0]

i think you are removing too much. also try a cold temp wax for -10. all purpose waxes are generally -5 to +5 I think

[marnix 0]

I think Kumapix is right. You should scrape less and check your board whether you scraped off base instead of wax. If you're not racing just scrape gently and ride the rest off. Main thing is that the doesn't stick to your base.

[damian 0]

Cheers guys, I will try less aggressive scraping so as to leave a thing film... on which I can see the brushed structure.

 

As for wax temps: last weekend it was heavy rain to 2000m and slug shit snow everywhere.

 

This weekend the snow surface and air was quite cold (as mentioned, approx -15C)

 

Can't win, but not complaining.

[Ezorisu 0]

Brushing is your friend. It makes a pretty big difference over just scraping IMHO.

 

If conditions are getting wet and sticky, try rubbing some fluoro wax on over your hydrocarbon base wax and buffing it in.

[SirJibAlot 0]

Anybody tried home repair with a ptex candle? How tough is it to get right?

 

-SJA

[speightsman 0]

I found p tex candles quite tough. Especially if you have a white base. You need to stop the ptex from burning and going black before it drips onto the board. It's quite an art to keep rotating it and not letting the flame get too hot. Unless you are getting core shots all the time i suggest getting the shop to do it with a ptex gun.

 

As for the wax, one tip, dont leave the iron in one spot for too long. I learnt the hard way when i burnt a pair of ski's from the base through to the top sheet.

[Davo 1]

Good tip with the iron. I'm lazy too and would rather someone else did my board for me. However, if there's a bench set up and available it's just pure laziness for me not to do it. I was laughing at the posts about scraping off too much. I used to do exactly the same thing as well.

[SirJibAlot 0]

I think i'll leave the p-tex repairs to the professionals.

 

I like to wax my stick personally, I usually leave the wax on a little bit think to protect the base. I'm not trying to charge down the hill at 120kph and I have found that it doesn't make that much difference if you leave it on thicker (other than not having to wax as frequently).

 

-SJA

[The Takayama Tearer 0]

Are we talking about the canned stuff here? or rub on?

 

That canned stuff rocks.

[quattro 1]

When working with ptex candles put your metal scraper near your gouge you want to fill. Initially flow the candle onto the scraper this will pull a lot of the carbon that builds up off. Once it starts to flow clear apply it in the gouge you want to fill. If you see carbon starting to build up flow back on to the scraper. Try not to let the flame get too big. Once it cools scrape with a metal scraper and sand.

 

If you can find a ptex iron it works better. Use it with flat ptex. With the iron you do not have to worry about carbon. An iron costs about 3000 yen.

[tsondaboy 0]

Ok, my snowboard is undergoing major tuning today. I just finished sharpening my edges and wanted some tips about de-tuning them.

 

How much do you usually detune the edges, ie how many cm length, from to, how dip etc?

 

 

db, I also still cant always get the scarping done right but some tips I got in the past was:

Scrape off about 80% of the amount of wax you ironed on the base.

You know when you have scraped enough when the base starts getting shinny against the sun.

After that, look the base from the side and scan for big blobs of wax and if necessary remove them.

There should be some wax left on the board when you scrape the base with your nails.

Put the finishing touch with a brush.

Good luck

[woywoy 0]

Tsonda, I dont have an iron at my house ...

[SirJibAlot 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by tsondaboy:


How much do you usually detune the edges, ie how many cm length, from to, how dip etc?

Depends on the extent to which you want to detune. If you are a hard core jibber and spend most of your time on the rails, then go ahead and detune completely. If you still want to ride or have an edge for icy days, then after you detune, tape a few pennies to the bottom of your file and create a new edge that is angled away...that will give you an edge for the ice, but shouldn't catch as easily.

You typically want to detune the nose and tail of your board all the way past where the rounding stops. Those are major catch points.

-SJA

[XilR8 0]

 Quote:

You want to start at the tip and slide the file at a 45 degree angle down the edge. You will want to de-tune to just past the widest part of the nose or tail. As you approach the point that you are going to stop de-tuning slowly apply less pressure.

And more advice on tuning here:

doucarve.com


SJA, I don't think there's a lot of hardcore jibbers on this board