How Often Should I Wax My Snowboard?

By Ryan Barnes

When it comes to snowboarding, one of the most common questions you will ever come across is, “how often should I wax my snowboard?” Well, if you also have the same doubt, don’t worry! We got you covered.

In this guide, we will try to clear all your doubts related to snowboard waxing. We will also guide you through a step-by-step process to wax your snowboard at your home without visiting a store. So, keep reading on this guide to learn more about board waxing.

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Here, We are adding list of Top 5 best waxes recommended by our team.

Factors on which Snowboard waxing depends

Well, the frequency of board waxing depends upon some of the factors that determine how often you should wax a snowboard. These factors are as follows:

i. What type of base does your snowboard has

This is the first and most important factor that directly influences the frequency of board waxing. As of now, there are two types of snowboard bases used in the market – Sintered and Extruded bases. So, what is the mean difference between these two snowboard base?

Well, sintered base are made of up more porous material. And so, they require more waxing as compared to the extruded base. Since sintered bases absorb more factory wax as compared to extruded ones, they slide faster than that of extruded bases. But on the other hand, if you left sintered bases without waxing, it will ride much slower than that of an unwaxed extruded base snowboard.

So, the conclusion is, if you have a snowboard with a sintered base, you need to wax it more often as compared to snowboards with extruded bases.

ii. How much you use your snowboard

This is a very straightforward reason for the number of times you need to wax your board. The more you ride, the more you lose wax from your board. So, if you are using your snowboard regularly, you need to wax your board twice a week for optimal performance. On the other hand, if you use it less often, it requires less waxing.

iii. Surface Condition on which you usually ride

As you know, wax acts as a protection layer to the bases of the snowboard; they will be in direct contact with the surface. So, if you are riding on a hard of the icy surface, there is a high probability of losing more wax from the board. So, if you want to let your board waxed for a longer duration, try to ride on soft snow. Else, you need to wax your board more often than usual.

How to determine when your snowboard needs to be waxed

Well, there are a few ways to know does your snowboard needed to be waxed or not.

The first one is, look at the base of the board in bright lighting conditions. If you find haziness in the color of your board, this is the time when you need to wax your board.
Another one is to run your fingernail on the base of the board. If it does collect some wax, you can take a few more rides without waxing. Else, it would be best if you waxed it properly for optimal performance.

How to wax your snowboard at your home?

Well, if you want to get your snowboard waxed, you can take it to any snowboard shop near you. In case, if you don’t want to take it to a shop or you don’t have any shop in your surroundings, you can also hot wax a snowboard right at your home.

To do this, you need to have some tools and wax, as given below.

Screwdriver
A base cleaner
Snowboard wax
Waxing iron
Scraper
Scrub sponge or brush
Rag

If you don’t have any of these here are some recommendations from our team,

Screwdriver

Base cleaner

Snowboard wax

Waxing Iron

Scraper

Scrub sponge or brush

Once you have all these tools, now proceed to the next steps.

i. Remove the Bindings

The first thing you need to do is to remove the bindings from your board. To do this, take a screwdriver and unscrew the bindings from the board.

ii. Clean the base

Before you apply wax on your board, make sure to remove the old ones so that the fresh wax sticks to the bottom properly. So, remove the base with the help of a base cleaner. Spray the cleaner on the surface of the base and wipe it out gently with the help of a rag.

iii. Apply the wax

Once cleaned, its time to apply the wax to the base. But before you begin this process, preheat the wax iron to make it ready to use. Once the iron is heated to the optimal temperature, start dripping the wax at the edge of the board and eventually trickle it throughout the board.

Now, spread the wax throughout the board with the help of iron. Once done, leave the board for 30 minutes at room temperature. When you find the wax is completely settled, it’s time to scrap the extra wax from the board.

iv. Remove the extra wax.

Now, remove the extra wax from the board with the help of scrappers. Start scraping the wax from the edges of the board the move to the surface. After removing the extra wax, clean the board with a rag to remove all the remaining wax from the board.

v. Put the bindings back on the board.

Once the waxing is finished, screw the bindings using a screwdriver. Now, your snowboard is ready to rock again!

In this way, you can easily wax a snowboard right at your home and get your snowboard ready for any snow condition. Don’t forget to give the wax job to your board atleast once in a season.

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