Waxing Your Board
Everyone has their own style when it comes to waxing their surfboard. Some
treat it as an art form; others simply take a chunk and rub it in circles until
they’re content. In the cold water, it’s good to use two coats: a
hard coat and a soft coat. First of all start with a clean deck on your surfboard.
There's no point putting good wax over a coats of old dirty wax.
Hard Coat
For
the hard coat I use Sex Wax Quick Humps 5X Hard, but any “hard,” cold
water wax will do. Using a light pressure, rub the wax at a 45-degree angle crisscrossing
up your board or use a circular motion - people do both and it's a matter of
preference. It’s
good to wax right from your stomp pad up to the mid, or mid-upper part of your
board. Don't rush it and get the best possible bump structure. This layer
will be the base for all your waxing until your decide to scrape your board clean.
You don’t
need the wax to cover all of the deck, unless you ride a longboard and are going
to be running all up and down, and hanging five or ten off the nose. After coating
the deck once go back over the board waxing rail to rail, then nose to tail.
Great, you've now got a good base for your top soft coat.
Soft Coat
After the hard coat is on, apply your softer coat (I use Sex Wax Quick Humps
2X Extra Soft, or soft Sticky Bumps) by rubbing it flat at an angle, or in circles.
Sooner or later, the wax should create nice bumps to keep your feet glued to
your board. I’ve heard of people rubbing for 30 minutes to get their wax
right. This could be some kind of gag, but people do take their waxing serious
and spend a lot of time waxing up.
Keep It Waxed
Once
your finished waxing, keep your waxed surfboard wax out of the sun, because the
wax can turn so runny that you’ll be able to wipe it off like wet paint.
And I know it smells really good (especially the Sticky Bumps), but believe me,
you don’t want to start trying it if you get hungry in the lineup. (Take
some organic energy bars to the beach with you instead.) If you’re
riding a soft-top, then lucky for you, you don’t need to spend the time
to wax up. The foam will be more than enough to keep you sticking to your board.
Time To Rewax
When
your wax is getting dirty, you can use a wax comb (like the one sold at Live
To Surf) to peel it off and reapply. It may take a couple weeks, or a couple
months until you feel you need to rewax, depending on your preference. And it’s
all about preference. Find out what works and feels best for you, so you won’t
have to deal with slipping off your edges when that perfect wave comes your way.
|