How To Hot Wax Your Snowboard

Snowboards need to be regularly waxed to keep the base running nice and fast. Applying a fresh coat of hot wax every few times you ride is ideal. Or if you notice that your board's base looks especially dry or seems to be running slow, now is a good time for a hot wax.

There are four things you will absolutely need:

• Wax: be sure to buy ski or snowboard wax that is designed to be applied with a hot iron. There are plenty of choices, but a good all-temperature wax will work well in most snow conditions.
• Scraper: pick this up at your favorite board shop along with the wax. Plastic or metal scrapers are both fine, just avoid really wide scrapers that are sometimes marketed for snowboards - they don't scrape as well as the smaller ones.
• Iron: now might be a good time to invest in an iron designed especially for waxing skis and snowboards. These are smooth on the bottom and therefore apply a nice smooth coat of wax. Or you can go down to your nearest Salvation Army or Goodwill and pick up a used household iron for a few bucks.
• Scotchbrite: these rough green pads are available at any grocery store next to the kitchen sponges.

Some optional but helpful items:

• Base Cleaner: if your snowboard's base is dirty, clean it using a base cleaner (find this at your board shop) and a rag before you hot wax it.
• Vises: setting up a workbench makes tuning and waxing your board much easier. Vises are available that hold your snowboard in place while you work.

Lets get started:

1. Drip

Put down an old sheet or some newspaper to catch dripping wax. Then put your board base-up on your new vises (see optional items) or on some books.

Plug in your iron and set it to a medium heat. It should be hot enough to readily melt the wax, but not so hot that the wax smokes. Hold the iron perpendicular to your snowboard with the pointed side down. Press the wax bar against the hot iron and hold it there. As the wax drips, move the iron up and down the base of your board until you have stripes of dripped wax 1 to 2 inches apart. Set the wax aside.

2. Iron

Now iron in all that wax until the base of your board is fully covered. Keep the iron moving; leaving it in one area for too long can damage the snowboard.

3. Scrape

Turn off the iron and wait 15 to 20 minutes for the wax to set and cool. Now grab the scraper and scrape off any excess wax in a nose to tail motion. Scraping away all the wax may sound counter-productive, until you realize that a hot wax actually opens up the pores in a snowboard's base where you want wax to go. Excess wax will only slow you down.

4. Buff

After scraping, rub the scotchbrite pad in a nose to tail motion to take off the last of the wax and give your board a finishing touch. You are now ready to ride.