# Cant wait to wax



## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

after being sketchy about how to wax a snowboard, i watched one of Snowolf's videos and saw its not all that its cracked up to be.

so i ordered some 30-10 degree wax, a hot iron, couple of clamps, scrapers and buffing pads etc
cant wait to start on my first wax job.


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## FoShizzle (Nov 6, 2008)

good luck.

SCRAPE WELL!


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## mag⋅net⋅ism (Oct 26, 2008)

We've all got our own tricks, so I thought I'd share this one for keeping things... uh... cleaner. We live in an apartment and have to do our waxing indoors. It works out well-enough, we converted our second bedroom into a gear room. The problem is that it's hardwood in there, and the wax scrapings make the floor SUPER slippery. Anyway, I developed a little trick to keep the floor a bit cleaner and less of a skating rink. I tape the handle of a plastic bag to the top sheet of my board in such a way that the bag sort of envelopes the tail. As I scrape, I pull the wax towards me and thus into the bag. There's practically nothing left to clean up, and whatever there is I hit with the dust-buster. Mom would be so proud.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

yea good point. ill be fortunate enough if my girl will let me do that in our kitchen.
the kitchen table looks like the only suitable place for me to mount the board vises to.

ohhh i cant wait to see her expression. after everything, i think my face will end up on a milk carton for missing persons


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## AWNOW (Sep 12, 2009)

If you cant find a place to mount the vises, just use a pile of old books, boxes, etc...


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## mag⋅net⋅ism (Oct 26, 2008)

I just take my bindings off, straight up. No extraneous equipment required.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

i was thinkin of using two chairs and having two of my best friends sit on each of them to prevent the chairs from tipping over.

keywords are : best friends:laugh:


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

mag⋅net⋅ism;219987 said:


> I just take my bindings off, straight up. No extraneous equipment required.


im really anal about removing bindings. once u start doing that then the threadlock comes off and u risk ur bindings coming off half way on a black diamond


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## mag⋅net⋅ism (Oct 26, 2008)

Meh, threadlock's on the male. You can always get new screws.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

tis true...


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

Blue loctite or clear nail polish works wonders too. Bewarned, the first couple times you'll waste a good bit of wax trying to find a happy medium. My favourite thing to do to save wax is to "colour" it on like a crayon and melt into the base from there. It saves ALOT of wax and works just as well. Less work scraping too. =]


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## MunkySpunk (Jan 7, 2009)

boarderaholic said:


> My favourite thing to do to save wax is to "colour" it on like a crayon and melt into the base from there. It saves ALOT of wax and works just as well. Less work scraping too. =]


Me too. Find a flat edge on your block o' wax, put it on the board, and rub like hell. Cover every inch. You'll have just enough to iron in an entire layer. It goes much quicker than spreading a line out, and you don't have to scrape that much off when it's done.

A sharp scraper makes all the difference.


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## krazykozmetics (Dec 8, 2009)

I dont know if everyone does this but I have seen it happen, I always loosen the bindings/screws before i hea the board at all. One of my buddies had his board waxed at a pro shop before we started waxing our own stuff and they didnt loosen the screws. Where the screws were tight it actually pulled the base in like a suction/dimple. No real harm but not good. Only takes a second to prevent. Just my $.02


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## boarder3 (Dec 4, 2008)

MunkySpunk said:


> Me too. Find a flat edge on your block o' wax, put it on the board, and rub like hell. Cover every inch. You'll have just enough to iron in an entire layer. It goes much quicker than spreading a line out, and you don't have to scrape that much off when it's done.
> 
> A sharp scraper makes all the difference.


So you dont even heat up the wax before you rub it on? and then you just iron over it? seams like a good idea..might have to give that a try.


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

boarder3 said:


> So you dont even heat up the wax before you rub it on? and then you just iron over it? seams like a good idea..might have to give that a try.


Nope, nothing fancy. Just crayon as you would on a colouring book. As for loosening the bindings, all it does is make it easier to scrape. When you have your bindings on, it basically makes a crater in your board and is a tad bit more work than necessary. (Yes, I am a VERY lazy person.)


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## boarder3 (Dec 4, 2008)

ok sweet. ill give that a try. thanks


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

so even if the wax is in its cold and solid state, u are still able to rub it on like a crayon and deposit the wax onto the board??

i was actually thinking about that earlier, but was planning on putting the wax in the microwave for a couple of seconds to get it softer cuz i didnt think u can still rub it on


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## boarderaholic (Aug 13, 2007)

Mr. Polonia said:


> so even if the wax is in its cold and solid state, u are still able to rub it on like a crayon and deposit the wax onto the board??
> 
> i was actually thinking about that earlier, but was planning on putting the wax in the microwave for a couple of seconds to get it softer cuz i didnt think u can still rub it on


Baaaadddd idea. Snowboard wax is meant to be used straight out of the box. If the manufacturer wants you to nuke it, it'll say so on the package. If anything, using the wax from its solid state is the best form because you can control how much gets deposited onto your board.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

mag⋅net⋅ism;219998 said:


> Meh, threadlock's on the male. You can always get new screws.


Whoa! Long time no post. Welcome back to the forum mag's. Hope life has been good to you.


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## mag⋅net⋅ism (Oct 26, 2008)

killclimbz said:


> Whoa! Long time no post. Welcome back to the forum mag's. Hope life has been good to you.


I know right?! What can I say? It was hard to think about snow all summer at the beach, and it's been hard to hang out on the 'puter since the season started! But it's good to be back! (Have seen some hilarious noob threads that have really made the catch up worthwhile! :laugh


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## MunkySpunk (Jan 7, 2009)

I'll touch the edge of the wax block to the hot iron for half a second, rub a few passes, touch again when I need to, rub a few passes etc... You really don't need much, a lot less than you'd think - just cover the board with that thin crayon layer. Move the iron with a slow but steady hand.

Hot waxing and scraping goes from a pain in the ass to a minor and much less messy inconvenience. Two or three good passes with a sharp scraper does it all.

EDIT: And ironing is SO much faster this way than spreading out wax drippings.


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## Glade Ripper (Nov 12, 2008)

I will be trying this tomorrow afternoon as it sounds like a good idea to me. I hate dripping then trying to melt it all in; thanks for the idea.

*I love the idea of using less wax! Why waste it


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## Guest (Dec 15, 2009)

I just got done with my first attempt at waxing after watching Snowolf's guides. I think it went pretty well, I'm definately proud of myself haha  But, props to Snowolf, great videos, as said by many others.

...I think I overdid the wax a little though, judging by the gigantic pile of shavings i had left over. lol


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## HouseMuzik (Dec 22, 2008)

I wanna learn to wax my own board, but idk I'm one of those people that really likes it seen done in person and have a guide there the first time, ya know? I'd be afraid I'd screw it up too much. Ah yes, one more thing to learn this season.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

thanks monkeyspunk...i took ur advise and waxed 2 of my snowboards in combination with watching Snowolfs videos.

i applied the wax against the iron for a brief second just to get it softer and i started crayon-ing
it. for 2 boards, it seems like i barely used any of the wax. I got that expensive shit from SWIX (fluoro wax)

ironed the remainder of the wax, let it set and cool and the scraping was a breeze considering i didnt over do the waxing job.

so yea...im pretty proud of my job. cant wait to kill myself now:laugh:


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## Glade Ripper (Nov 12, 2008)

HouseMuzik said:


> I wanna learn to wax my own board, but idk I'm one of those people that really likes it seen done in person and have a guide there the first time, ya know? I'd be afraid I'd screw it up too much. Ah yes, one more thing to learn this season.


I was the same way before I tried it for my first time. You honestly cannot screw it up. Watch snowolf's video as you do it if need be. Just make sure you don't let the iron sit in one place for too long and you will be fine. I used a plastic scraper for about the first four strokes because I was really hesitant, fearing I was going to scratch my board but, I quickly realized that was not going to happen unless I was an idiot and used the corner of it. 

Go for it. Ya really can't screw it up. :thumbsup:


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## MunkySpunk (Jan 7, 2009)

HouseMuzik said:


> I wanna learn to wax my own board, but idk I'm one of those people that really likes it seen done in person and have a guide there the first time, ya know? I'd be afraid I'd screw it up too much. Ah yes, one more thing to learn this season.


If you screw up a hot wax, immediately change to velcro shoes, put a helmet on, wrap yourself in bubble wrap, and never leave your room because you could potentially screw up everything from using a fork to tying your shoes. Most importantly, never breed, because you've got to have some serious genetic defects to mess up something that simple. :laugh:

It really IS that easy. Use a plastic plexi scraper at first so you don't gouge holes in your P-tex, don't melt a hole in your base with the iron, and you just can't go wrong.

I still use a plexi scraper, I just keep it sharp with a panzer file in my edge sharpener. I've said it at least 20 times before and I can't stress it enough, a sharp scraper makes your life so much easier. It's the difference between 2 passes or 34 passes.

EDIT: I tried the bluebird soy wax this past weekend. Total garbage. It's greasy, messy, and my board was actually dryer than when I started. I'm glad I got it on clearance for $3 a block, and each block came with 2 plexi scrapers - if I wasn't for the scrapers I would have felt ripped off.

I'll put that up in another post. Got 2 review posts to make now.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

this is what i bought and hot waxed the other day:

SwixSport.com : SwixProduct / FX Freeride FX Snowboard wax 180g

It looks promising so i dont want to hear any bad reviews lol


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## mag⋅net⋅ism (Oct 26, 2008)

Whis tomorrow! Woot! Time to wax my shit.
Hokay, I got my Kuu, my plastic bag, the iron's hot, but Imma colour it on like a crayon and get her hot later. Fingers-crossed this works a-ok...let ya know either way.


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## mag⋅net⋅ism (Oct 26, 2008)

Got my shovel, digging that crayoning technique. Such a great idea - thanks guys!


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## Guest (Dec 16, 2009)

What i usually do is color it on like a crayon then hot drip it on. that way i dont have to be as crazy about making sure i drip enough wax.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

erbodywangchung said:


> What i usually do is color it on like a crayon then hot drip it on. that way i dont have to be as crazy about making sure i drip enough wax.



u gotta try the crayon technique...if ur wax is really really hard then place is on the hot iron for a brief second to get it softer and then just apply ....u really do save a lot of wax this way and u can cover more areas like that IMO:thumbsup:


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## Guest (Dec 16, 2009)

I think i will be implimenting the crayon technique but im going to do the melt on way for my first wax of the season to make sure i get a nice soak. cant be too stingy on the first wax of the season, which should be sunday. i love my first wax of the season. its like unwrapping a christmas present, you know after it is all done you get to play with it.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

erbodywangchung said:


> I think i will be implimenting the crayon technique but im going to do the melt on way for my first wax of the season to make sure i get a nice soak. cant be too stingy on the first wax of the season, which should be sunday. i love my first wax of the season. its like unwrapping a christmas present, you know after it is all done you get to play with it.


NO...what we meant by the crayon method is to crayon the base, and then iron in the wax.
this way you save more wax and u can spread out the wax along the surface more evenly as opposed to hot dripping it.


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

Mr. Polonia said:


> NO...what we meant by the crayon method is to crayon the base, and then iron in the wax.
> this way you save more wax and u can spread out the wax along the surface more evenly as opposed to hot dripping it.


You'll want to use the crayon method if you're using graphite wax. The graphite particles are suspended in the wax so if you hot drip, they don't spread out evenly.

Not a big deal as the wax spreads fine and you get a good coat, but add in the ease of scraping and it's become my preferred method.


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## john doe (Nov 6, 2009)

MunkySpunk said:


> EDIT: I tried the bluebird soy wax this past weekend. Total garbage. It's greasy, messy, and my board was actually dryer than when I started. I'm glad I got it on clearance for $3 a block, and each block came with 2 plexi scrapers - if I wasn't for the scrapers I would have felt ripped off.
> 
> I'll put that up in another post. Got 2 review posts to make now.


I was waiting for your review post but haven't seen it. I agree about it being greasy and messy but I don't know what you mean about being dry. Both the boards I waxed with it went a 9 hour day on man made snow with some ice with barely any signs of drying out.


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