How to make your boards slide faster

   SACRAMENTO, Calif. - (March 2007)  This article's goal is to show you a simple and effective way of waxing your ski or snowboard. Waxing can be simple to very complex depending upon the results you want to
achieve.  You can spend as little as $2 -- to hundreds or even thousands to wax a ski or board if you are an Olympic skier or rider trying to shave that extra 1/10th of a second off your time for the Gold!
    But for us recreational types that want a heavenly ride from a good wax job that is simple to do and cost effective -- not to mention extending the life of our most valued possession -- then here is the answer.
    We start with a All-Temperature Wax, a plastic scraper, polishing/buffing cloth, a base cleaner, a hot iron, clean cloth, some form of support for the equipment and proper space. To make our material gathering easy, Hertel Wax Company (www.hertelskiwax.com) sells a kit that includes the All-Temp wax, scraper, base cleaner, buffing/polishing cloth and even a top cleaning disposable paper cloth to shine and make the top of your equipment smooth to silk your way through the powder all for a 2007 price of  $15.
   I find the wax to be a very superior all temperature wax to meet both cold and warm conditions for the recreational skier and snowboarder.
    This wax is made to provide you with an enjoyable ride allowing you to perform in most conditions while protecting your bases from harmful oxidation and dehydration.  We recommend for Spring condition to use a Spring specific wax as an overlay.  This will keep out the Spring pollen and debris from embedding into the wax and slowing the glide performance.
  How often should you wax: We recommend for most recreational users a good Hot Wax be performed after every three days of riding on the equipment.  It is said that a proper waxing after every 20 to 25 runs has the potential to extend the life of your skis one or more years longer.  If you are serious then your bases should be waxed at least every other time out. A race ski should be waxed multiple times every time it is skied on.
    Wax comes in many forms from liquid, paste, solid bars.  We recommend the solid bars that allow you to hot wax. These waxes last longer and provide a longer quality performance.
    For a basic wax job, you'll need to iron the wax into the base as p-tex is a porous material heating it up will allow the wax to be absorbed into it. You can purchase a proper waxing iron from most good ski stores, but regular clothes irons will also do the job. Best not to get the ones with steam holes as it clogs with wax, but if you don't mind that then such irons can also be used. The real problem with such irons is that it is easy to burn the wax and over heat the ski or board base so be very careful and keep the setting down usually below Rayon, just remember no fumes!
    So if you use the wax kit you will find it contains 5 one ounce bars of all-temperature wax, a plastic scraper, a Scotch Brite buffer pad, 1 packet of base cleaner and 1 packet of top cleaner.  

Tools & Materials list
    1. A well lighted work area with a table top space.
    2. Electric Iron.
    3. Lint free cloth.
    4. Base Cleaner * (included in kit).
    5. Wax  (included in kit).
    6. Plastic Scraper (included in kit).
    7. Scotch-brite pad (included in kit).
    8. For skis: need brake retainers.
    9. Two blocks to rest skis or boards when working on them. **
    10. Top surface cleaner and polisher (included in kit).
    11. Newspaper or plastic sheet or tarp for laying on the floor if you don't want to mess the floor.
    * A specific agent that strips wax without harming or drying out the base as well as cleans the base.
    **For resting the skis or snowboard to support the ski or board so that the base is facing upwards.   If you are desperate you can use a large box opening to set the ski or board to stacks of books on your kitchen table.

Waxing Procedure
    STEP 1: Prep base  - Put newspaper or magazines down to catch debris and dripping wax. Put base facing up on your blocks or in your vice to keep it stationary, if you don't have blocks or vice but can find a empty box that is big enough you can set the ski or board across the opening.
    Clean the base using the base cleaner wipe.  Wipe on Base Cleaner rubbing it thoroughly on the base.
    A. Wipe on Wax Remover: Leave the wax remover on for a short period of time (short as  seconds will work).
    B. Rub off with lint free cloth:  Rub off thoroughly with the lint free cleaning cloth.
    C. After removing the wax remover leave the base to dry for about 15 minutes. It is then ready.
    STEP 2:  Drip Wax  - Set your iron at low - medium heat (set it to 120 – 150 C.).
    If using a home iron here is a guide line: rarely do you need to set the clothing iron for waxing purposes higher than "Cotton Blends".  For regular waxing no higher than "Rayon". Higher settings above Rayon usually result in excessive wax fumes and potentially smoke from burning wax.
    Recommend setting the iron between "Acrylic" and "Nylon/Silk". Let the iron warm up for 15 minutes first at this low setting.)
    If the wax smokes you know it's too hot, turn it down.  Once the iron has stabilized and easily melts the wax but does not create smoke you are ready to go on. Hold iron perpendicular to your board with the pointed side down.  Now, hold your Wax against the iron and let it drip onto the base. As the wax drips, move the iron and wax up and down the base, striping the board 1 to 2 inches at most, apart.
    Time saver: use blue paint tape and tape off sides so that dripped wax won't get on sides, bindings and top.
    Remember, if wax starts smoking turn down your iron and don't breath the fumes.
    STEP 3:   Iron  - Now iron the striped wax on your board until base is fully covered. Make sure to keep the iron moving at all times. This soaks the wax deep in the pores of your board. Whatever you do, do not leave iron still on board. No need to press down on the iron.  The weight of the iron is enough pressure. As long as you have wax between iron and the base the chances of damaging the base is minimized.
    Ironing suggestions & hints: Don't let the iron smoke the wax. Dial it in so it just melts the wax easily. Don't scrimp on wax. Better to over load the base with wax than having spotted bare spots that iron makes direct contact with polyethylene base and damages the porosity of it. Always keep a layer of wax between iron and base. Keep the iron moving slowly from tip to tail moving constantly just slow enough to have a trail of 4 to 6 inches of melted wax trailing the iron.  Minimize any quick back and forth motions with the iron.  Remember you are not ironing a shirt, you are putting a consistent layer of wax into and onto the base.
    STEP 4:   Scrape  - Turn off the iron. Wait 10 - 20 minutes or until wax is fully cooled.  The longer you wait the better for the wax to set deeply into the pores of the base. You can even leave it over night to cool down and set. Then grab scraper and scrape off excess starting at the nose and scraping down to tail. Do your best to get as much wax off the surface of the base as possible with your scraper. What is critical is that the wax remains in the pores and a microthin layer is left on the base.
    STEP 5: Buff  - Finally, Scotch Brite or Fibertex the base in the same nose to tail action. This will buff the board and gets any excess still remaining off. Make sure you leave with glossy finish.
     Use a plastic pot scraper sponge to remove any wax dripping or excess wax on metal edge or sides.
     If your not sure that the wax is working just sprinkle some water on the base and watch the water bead up.
     Now hit the snow and have a great Ride!
    Sam Morishima is a contributing editor for Sierra Ski News and heads up the Endless Slope Ski & Snowboard School in Sacramento and San Francisco. For further information visit  www.endlesslope.com, or call (415) 357-3650 (San Francisco or (916) 736-0432 (Sacramento).