Snowboard Club UK

UK - Wax it or not?

tunnie - Jan 12, 2009 - 05:16 PM
Post subject: Wax it or not?

Finally a booked trip to real snow, not that indoors stuff Cool

Going to Three Valleys in France for 7 days, just wondering if i should get my board waxed, its not been used that much:

About 10 hours or so in total at MK
2 full ish days at Landgraaf in Holland

Is it worth getting it waxed? I don't do rails or stuff like that yet (not good enough!)

Sidget - Jan 12, 2009 - 05:20 PM
Post subject: RE: Wax it or not?

Yeah i'd say wax it, thats a moderate amount of use, 10 hours in MK will make it pretty dirty also im guessin

Always good to hae a good wax, no harm in waxing it, only good can come from it Smile

TightKnitJJ - Jan 12, 2009 - 05:24 PM
Post subject: RE: Wax it or not?

Clean it, wax it, ride it.
Thing is though, can you do it yourself or you have to place it in the hands of tsa or wherever? If youc an do it yourself then I'd wait til your out there and see how it rides tbh, if its slow then wax and if it isnt wait until it becomes slow but if you cant do it yourself then you might miss out on a day riding out there so getting it done before hand might be the better option.

Branny - Jan 12, 2009 - 05:27 PM
Post subject: RE: Wax it or not?

stick a tub of zargons or similar wipeon in your bag

get a quick wax job in resort if you find it slow

ROBster - Jan 12, 2009 - 09:55 PM
Post subject: RE: Wax it or not?

my first ever trip away i never waxed my board before i went

first run on the first day my board felt like it had a base made of sandpaper!!

its always goo to give you board a wax, especially since you've done 10 hours at mk and 2 days at landgraff!

if you get it done at a shop in the uk they will probalby take a day or two but you can get a quick wax in resort that will take about 15 min!

but yeah get it waxed!!!

tunnie - Jan 12, 2009 - 10:58 PM
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cheers guys Smile

I was in Elis Brig in Covent Garden the other day with a mate, we were looking at DIY kits, his board needs doing too, so we thought about going halfs on a kit.

Could we do it in the hotel room on the trip? How long does it take to dry?

Also has anyone ever given their board to Elis Brig or TSA?

I got my board from MK TSA, guys in there was really helpful when buying my board, they even knocked £40 of a wheelie bag for me. So i am tempted to pop it down there. Trouble is i go weekend after next! and i can only get down there at weekends.

Does anyone know how fast TSA's turn around is on board waxing?

I guess the other option is just to get it done out there, but i guess i might pay the price for doing that? Confused

Sartori - Jan 13, 2009 - 08:14 AM
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Most hotels / chalets have a board storage room and often this has an area set aside for board maintenance / waxing, but this isn't guaranteed - waxing your board in your room tends not to be looked on favourably in hotels as the wax is a pain to clean off the carpet, but chalets tend to have an outdoor balcony which is where I'd normally do my board.

Getting your board waxed when you're out there by a shop that does servicing is an option but it's the same as doing it over here at TSA and other places - sometimes you get a good one and they do a really good job, other times it's useless. If I need a wax and can't be bothered to do it I tend to try and find places that hand wax it themselves as you normally get a better service than the bigger chains that fast wax it by running it through the machine, but that's just personal preference.

Waxing a board isn't hard, and I'd recommend giving it a go yourself. The result you get is going to be better than a shop as you'll put more time and effort into looking after your baby than a place that does a large volume where your board is one of many.

cantridepete - Jan 13, 2009 - 09:19 AM
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where abouts are you? if your close i'll show you how to wax & service then you can do it yourself in the future Smile

tunnie - Jan 13, 2009 - 09:33 AM
Post subject:

i live in Northamptonshire but i work in central London.

I intend to go looking at waxing kits today, might do the board at a friends at the weekend.

How long does the process take? Assume it can be done in a few hours, then put back in a wheelie bag and taken home again?

cantridepete - Jan 13, 2009 - 10:34 AM
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the whole servicing process takes about 30 minutes, if your edges are ok then a wax shouldnt take more than about 10 minutes Smile

Dakine do a kit for about £60 i think that contains everything you need, but if your just waxing then just buy some all temperature wax, an old iron (doesnt have to be specialist snowboard iron, as long as you can turn off the steam Confused

) and a plastic scrapper of some description. The scrapper doesnt have to be sharp, it just needs to have a flat rightangle edge and be firm enough to get the wax off...ie not a credit card Wink

Some base cleaner might be good as well if you've been riding domes Cool

i'm abit far away to show you in person though, sorry Sad

dunx - Jan 13, 2009 - 10:52 AM
Post subject:

Waxing is fun if you have the time to clean up afterwards!

Base cleaner (or citrus juice) and kitchen towels.
Wax Smile

melt and drip it off the nose of the...
Iron (any old thing with no holes in it). Don't over heat the board when you're spreading the wax around.
Scraper made of plastic to scrape all the wax off. Work from tip to tail. Get as much of as possible.
Structure brush... I use a scrubbing brush and one of those green scrubbing pads for that bit. Again, work tip to tail.
Polish with a cloth.
Dustpan and brush to clean up the mess!

Always good to pTex any minor dings first (pTex candle, lighter and razor blade will do the trick) and give the edges a sharpen. You can get an edge sharpener as part of the SCUK Membership pack.

tunnie - Jan 13, 2009 - 11:04 AM
Post subject:

cantridepete wrote:

the whole servicing process takes about 30 minutes, if your edges are ok then a wax shouldnt take more than about 10 minutes Smile

) and a plastic scrapper of some description. The scrapper doesnt have to be sharp, it just needs to have a flat rightangle edge and be firm enough to get the wax off...ie not a credit card Wink

Some base cleaner might be good as well if you've been riding domes Cool

i'm abit far away to show you in person though, sorry Sad

No worries, thanks for the advice!

I do tend to do a lot of things myself, including servcing my car so i will have a bash at Waxing my board.

I had a thought as i read your post, would a car ice window scraper be ok to take off the wax? Its got a fairly board flat surface, and is plastic, so should be ok?

I think going by your post myself and a friend will wax our boards this weekend, as we leave the following weekend.

The kits you buy from Elis Brig and such like, how many times can you wax a board with it?

Thanks for the advice, its much appreciated.

Sartori - Jan 13, 2009 - 11:11 AM
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I live in Northampton so if you want someone to show you how (it's really dead easy) then give me a shout and I'll help out Smile

richhiggins - Jan 13, 2009 - 12:20 PM
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dunx wrote:

Waxing is fun

melting and ironing is quite good fun.

scraping... hmm im; not so sure! Confused

riding your freshly waxed board tho, well yeah that'll be fun.

get it done!

tunnie - Jan 13, 2009 - 12:20 PM
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Sartori wrote:

I live in Northampton so if you want someone to show you how (it's really dead easy) then give me a shout and I'll help out Smile

Thanks for the offer! i think i may just take you up on that. Very Happy

I will look at getting a kit this week, then if your about at the weekend we can do my board. I'll see how its done, then i'll do my mates board next week.

Are you about this Saturday or Sunday?

cantridepete - Jan 13, 2009 - 12:25 PM
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I suppose a car scrapper probably would get the wax off yeah Smile

Sartori - Jan 13, 2009 - 05:02 PM
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I'll be around this weekend but not sure when yet as I need to go buy some bits before the bash. Sent you a PM

MagicalTrevor - Jan 19, 2009 - 12:17 PM
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I learned how to wax my board from this guy...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RDRoKCAFtX8

colcass - Jan 19, 2009 - 12:59 PM
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MagicalTrevor wrote:

I learned how to wax my board from this guy...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RDRoKCAFtX8

Yup, i learned from that guy too!

I have just invested in the kit to wax my board
Toko T8 iron (Decathalon sell it for £29.95, it is £43 in TSA)
Toko all temp wax - £10 (should get about 6 boards from it
Toko brush £13
Dakine scraper £5.99
Burton scraper with edge cut out £5 ish

I had a really bad experience when putting my board in to get waxed and edged in Bansko, they literally zipped it on the stone grinder for about 20 seconds, then pushed a wax stick onto another stone grinder to "melt the wax" and then zipped my base up and down it.

it was the worst finish i had ever seen, when they handed me the board back not knowing how to say "what the fu@k do you think you have just done" in bulgarian, he simply looked at me and said, "are you a professional?".

i felt like slashing his head off with newly sharpened my effective edge, as there was just clumps of wax all over it and it stuck the snow even when on a hill.

I got it done elsewhere and had a fantastic finish.

Dont trust Bulgarians, i would trust TSA, but it is fun doing it yourself if you like washing your car, you make sure you do a good job, but it is a pain