# Wax: Did I do something wrong?



## laviers13 (Jan 13, 2010)

your probably fine, some snowboards hold more wax than others. the base is what matters when it comes to holding wax. my old palmer needed waxing each day where as my custom can take a few days.


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## Deviant (Dec 22, 2009)

Also could be what snow conditions you're riding on, if it was ice then yes the wax will wear off alot quicker.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2010)

When I first started boarding I had a board that I rode through alot of Ice with (didn't wax it regularly) and noticed the edges of the base had turned white. I think once you've done that to your board those white areas will never be able to hold wax for very long. I don't think it has a very noticable effect on the ride though.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2010)

Try a different type of wax - maybe one that the mfg recommends? 

Also, you can try the easy wipe on, wipe off paste wax for a "daily" wax application. Dakine makes some of this stuff - saw a thread in here talking about it.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

Get some of the cleaning stuff..the orange based wax remover and do a full clean & hot wax your board.

If its used as you said, it could be dirty as shit and you just dont know it...especially since the base is black.

It should hold wax a bit better i would think.


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## redlude97 (Jan 9, 2008)

in cases like this I like to use a hard cold temp wax to fill in where the white starts showing. Just run a small bead of cold wax along the edges to touch up the wax job. The slower base penalty for using a cold wax will be minimized because the majority of the base will still have a more appropriate wax on it


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## supremej (Feb 14, 2010)

i wax every time i go out
its always icy and man made here


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## mjung (Feb 2, 2010)

your old board might have had an extruded base, which lasts a lot longer between waxes than sintered bases (so I've heard).


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## jpb3 (Nov 29, 2009)

(In addition to all the great comments above)

Dakine all temp sucks. Hate to say it but compared to Hertel/Bluebird/Swix it sucks.

Man made, frozen granular, or icy conditions strip the wax off your board real quick.

Like others have said you may need to really clean the base either with a cleaner or hot wax preferably.


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## TomNZ (Aug 10, 2009)

mjung said:


> your old board might have had an extruded base, which lasts a lot longer between waxes than sintered bases (so I've heard).


Other way around I think you'll find. Sintered bases have more of a porous structure, allowing the base to hold more wax.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

TomNZ said:


> Other way around I think you'll find. Sintered bases have more of a porous structure, allowing the base to hold more wax.


No he had it right. Sintered bases require much more active waxing, extruded not so much.


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## Milo303 (Apr 6, 2009)

arsenic0 said:


> No he had it right. Sintered bases require much more active waxing, extruded not so much.


You got it backwards if you don't want to feel like your on velcro...

Extruded needs to be waxed much more often to keep wax on it. Sintered will hold more wax, requiring a little less wax jobs overall to maintain similar glide.


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## Eightfingers (Feb 12, 2010)

I am suprised noone has said this yet. Since your base is black it could have possibly been waxed with graphite wax(which stains the base black). If this was the case the Dakaine(cheap wax) might not bond with the graphite wax which could be why your wax did not hold. I use simple green for a base cleaner. Whatever way you want to clean your base you really should and then rewax it (with some good wax). I dont know if this is the case but it could be.


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

Eightfingers said:


> If this was the case the Dakaine(cheap wax) might not bond with the graphite wax which could be why your wax did not hold.


I've never had any problem waxing over a graphite wax base layer as it's the base layer on all my boards, but I guess it's a possibility.

The whole thing sounds a little odd. The OP sounds like he knows how to wax so I guess we can assume it's not operator error. And while I don't like Dakine wax, the OP has used it before with apparently better results. Either the wax didn't adhere well, conditions were super abrasive, the sintered base is abraded or otherwise damaged and doesn't absord wax deeply or it was super dry and needed more wax.

There's one sure way to tell: base clean then wax it again with a nice heavy coat and double iron it before scraping. ie iron, cool for an hour or two, iron again, cool then scrape. The extra heat application will get a tiny bit more wax deeper into the base. Admittedly, this is grasping at straws as the absorbtion difference is miniscule, but hey every little bit helps. 

If that doesn't work, then lord knows what's on/in that base from the previous owner....My guess would be that the previous owner used some kind of petrochemical cleaner (like lighter fluid or WD40) to get it looking good for the "For Sale" pictures and there's a residue. Get a stone grind and start fresh.


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## Bubalouie (Mar 6, 2010)

Bones said:


> Get a stone grind and start fresh.


This is the best advice for used (new to you) boards that have a questionable history. I always go for a stone grind first.

My process for prepping a board before ever riding is this:


Base Grind
Hot Scrape 3 times (This is where you lay a hot wax layer and scrape it while still warm)
Soft wax (swix ch6 for me) 2 times, scraping each time
Hard wax (swix ch10) 1 time, scrape
Soft wax 2 more times, scrape each time
Hard wax 1 more time, scrape
Daily wax, scrape and brush

The hot scrape serves the purpose of removing all of the leftover crud from the grind.
The separate soft, then hard wax layers ensure that the base is nice and penetrated with wax. The hard wax layer kind of seals everything in.

There are products that combine the soft and hard wax into one, but I find I like the assurance of the correct combo of waxes for my taste.

This sounds like a lot of work to prepare a board, but I have done this on many boards that I, and many friends ride with excellent results. I have taken a board that new, out of the box with a "factory wax" and ridden it one day to only find that it has edge burn afterward. After doing this process, I am usually able to get 3+ days out of a board before needing to do another wax. This process is purely base prep for a new (to me) board, you can then go the whole season with just regualr waxes.

I know this is a lot of info (and work), but longevity of your base is the goal.

--buba


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2010)

jpb3 said:


> (In addition to all the great comments above)
> 
> Dakine all temp sucks. Hate to say it but compared to Hertel/Bluebird/Swix it sucks.
> 
> ...


My friend bought some dakine and the only thing I like better than the swix I usually use is the dakine smells like coconuts. The dakine is wayyyy overpriced. Did the math and the swix is about 6-8x cheaper.


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