7 easy steps to wax a snowboard

The art of waxing your board is easy to learn and easy to mess up – but it can also be fun to get the hang of if you’re willing to take the time and do it properly.

To wax a snowboard, you’ll need:

• A mild cleaning product and cloth
• Wax (there are several types, but a universal wax will do just fine in the majority of cases)
• A hot iron (you can buy a special iron, but a clothes iron is just as effective)
• A scraper (use a plastic scraper, which is less likely to groove your board)
• A stiff-bristled brush or scouring pad

Loosen your bindings a bit to make the board’s surface as smooth as possible. If you can, clamp the board to your work surface to make the job easier.

Before you apply the wax, it’s important to clean the entire surface of your board to optimize adhesion. Use a mild cleaning product and a cloth to remove dirt.

• Warm up your iron and put some wax on the hot surface to melt it.
• Drop melted wax all over the surface of your board, and then glide the iron over it to spread it out uniformly.
• The iron should be warm to the touch, but not hot.
• Never let the warm iron come to a rest on your board. Keep it moving at all times so you won’t burn the surface.

You can also let the board cool all night and continue with the next step later.

Using your scraping tool, remove the excess wax with long, fluid movements.

• After you’ve completed this step, there should be little or no wax to scrape up with your nails when you run them along the surface.

The last step is to polish the wax with a brush or scouring pad. Don’t go lightly.

• Continue scouring until you see shallow scratches on the surface. This will help your board glide easily over the snow instead of sticking to it.

You can’t wax a snowboard too often, but you’re not likely to go overboard because of the time involved. Do it after every couple of uses if you want to keep your investment in good shape and riding smooth.