Hot Waxing
Although I have been tuning my own snowboards, and skis before that, for more than 15 years, I am in no way an expert. The information contained in this article is meant as a starting point for those interested in learning. I hope this information will be helpful. I have always waxed with a cheap household iron. My first was actually stolen from my mother – don't do this without permission! I have found that for general purpose riding, an all temperature wax allows me to pass any skier on the mountain. In addition to the wax, you should buy either a plastic or metal scraper from your snowboard or ski shop.

It is always helpful to have a good surface to set the board on. In college I used a couple of kitchen chairs set back to back. This works for applying wax, but makes it difficult to scrape the wax off, as the board tends to slide around a lot. If you have access to a workshop with a bench in it, use it. You won't annoy your housemates with the wax smoke (you're sure to create some), and you are less likely to track wax flakes into the carpet. Clamp two short 2x4s to the bench so that they stick out a little more than a foot, and are far enough apart that the board's bindings fit between them. With some spray adhesive, apply a couple of old or unused neoprene stomp pads to the 2x4s. This will protect the top sheet and prevent the board from sliding as you work. If you don't have access to a work bench, a couple of saw horses will work well, too.

To apply the wax, turn the iron to the lowest setting that will melt the wax. Test it by holding the wax against the iron. If the iron begins to smoke, that means the wax is burning and the temperature is too high; turn it down. Hold the iron above the board, and rub the wax on it. As the wax begins to drip off the iron, move the iron around to apply the drops over the entire length of the board. Use the wax sparingly – remember how much it costs. If you need more in a particular area you can always apply it later.

Hint: you can save some wax by not applying any to the tip and tail. This portion of the board is rarely in contact with the snow. I usually apply wax to the tip or tail area only once or twice a season.

Work the wax into the base of the board by rubbing the iron over the surface of the board. Never leave the iron in one place, since it is possible to burn or even delaminate the base by doing so. Once you have worked the wax in and there is a thin coat covering the entire base, set the board aside and allow it to cool. This takes about half an hour.

When you scrape the board, which is the next step, you want to remove essentially all of the wax from the base surface. This may sound strange, but there are pores in the base material that soak up the wax. It is this absorbed wax that makes the board go faster. Leaving a thick layer of wax on the base will defeat the purpose of waxing altogether.

Remove the wax with either a plastic or metal scraper. I recommend a plastic scraper for the first timer, as a metal scraper can damage the base if used improperly. My personal preference, however, is for a metal scraper, though this is usually discouraged by technicians for the reasons mentioned above. I also prefer to use a slightly dull scraper, as it takes the wax off in more even layers.

To scrape the board, move the scraper from tip to tail in full length strokes. Hold the scraper at an angle between 45 and 20 degrees to the board. If the scraper is moving in the direction of this arrow --> then the scraper should be held in the direction of this forward slash / . Be careful not to gouge the wax off, but remove it in small amounts, instead. If there are stubborn areas, remove the wax with short strokes and then go back over the area with a few full length strokes. Scrape the base until very little wax comes off the board. When this happens, you are done.

It is important to wax frequently. A base that isn't waxed often enough will dry out and become sticky and brittle. Waxing will make the base slightly harder, and help prevent deep scratches from forming. I wax at least every other day on the slopes, if not every day.

At the end of the season, apply some wax to the base of the board, but don't scrape it off. This is the best way to store your board.

If you are interested in finding more information on waxing, go to the public library. Though there are few, if any, books about waxing snowboards, there will be plenty on waxing skis. The information contained in these books will be just as useful for waxing snowboards.

Waxing Supplies
// Scraper (metal or plastic)
Available at ski and snowboard shops.

// All Temperature Wax
Available at snowboard/ski shops.

// Waxing Iron
Available at hardware and house wares stores. Check the local thrift shop before dropping the big dollars. Look for an iron with a solid base (no steam holes); they tend to last longer.

Base Repair
Deep scratches in the base of your board will slow you down, so keeping a smooth running surface will greatly improve your speed. Any time you get a gouge in your base it should be repaired. Unless you have $200 for a P-Tex gun, the easiest way to do this is with P-Tex candles. These can be purchased at your local ski/snowboard shop, and they're cheap.

A P-Tex candle is simply a rod of P-Tex that is lit on one end. The melting P-Tex is dripped into the gouge to fill it in. A word of warning: If you have a gouge that goes all the way through the base material, DO NOT use P-Tex candles to do the repair – you will only make the problem worse. This is one instance when you should take your board to a professional and have it repaired properly.

There are several tricks to doing a quality job with P-Tex candles. Here is what I've learned through experience:

Always light the candle with a lighter or propane torch, not a match. This reduces the amount of carbon generated by the burning the candle (carbon makes the repair look brown and ugly). To keep the candle from producing excessive carbon, maintain a blue flame by holding the candle close to the scraper or the base of the board. Once the candle gets hot, maintain a distance of about 1/8 inch from the surface. This will take some practice, so try it on the scraper before beginning the base repair. Set the scraper near the gouge (but not directly on the base of the board, as it will get hot) in order to produce the necessary blue flame.

Now you can begin to flow P-Tex into the damaged area. Never pass the P-Tex candle directly over the gouge. Instead, pass the candle along the side of the gouge, and the hottest material will flow into the crevice on its own. It is often necessary to make more than one pass in order to completely fill the damaged area. Allow the P-Tex to cool between passes, either by moving to another damaged area or by briefly extinguishing the candle.

If the base has recently been waxed, you may have difficulty getting the repair to stick. In this case, it will be necessary to make a couple of cleaning passes. Simply fill the damaged area with P-Tex, and then scrape the material out again. Be sure to let the area cool completely before scraping. Eventually the P-Tex will begin to stick better. When this happens make your final repair.

You will never get a perfect bond between the base and the repair material, so removal of the excess material should be done with care in order not to dislodge the repair material. I've had the best results with a surform blade. You only need the blade itself, which you can buy at the local hardware store. Use the surform blade to remove as much of the excess material as possible, and then follow with the scraper. Be careful not to gouge with the scraper; instead use it to peel off thin layers. This is done by holding the scraper at an angle similar to this symbol / and moving it in the direction of this arrow -->. This completes the base repair.

If you maintain a smooth surface and wax you board frequently, you will enjoy riding much more. Remember, practice is what makes a good repair and wax job. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work perfectly the first time. There is no substitute for experience.

Tools for Base Repair
// Metal Scrapers
(Available at ski/snowboard shops, are essential to snowboard maintenance. Be sure to get a good one.)

// P-Tex Candles
Available at ski/snowboard shops.

// Surform Blades
Available at Sears and hardware stores.

Edge Tuning
Large dings or rough areas in the steel edge can slow your board down. A good, sharp edge will help you maintain control on ice. Edge beveling, or filing to a sharper angle, will allow a snowboard's edge to bite deeper into the ice.

Edge bevel angles used by professional tuners will vary from 88 degrees to 90 degrees (the difference in performance between these angles is minimal). Generally there will be more bevel (or a greater angle) at the waist of the board, and less at the tip and tail. Edge tuning is an art in itself, so I won't go into any more detail than to say: when in doubt, file the edges to a 90 degree angle.

Place your board base-side up on a work bench or two saw horses. Set the angle on your edge sharpener to 90 degrees (or whatever angle you choose), and run it along the board's edge in smooth, long strokes. Be sure that the sharpener remains snug against the base of the board as you work -- this will ensure that the angle is consistent for the entire length of the board. Don't sharpen the tip or tail of your board.

Tip: Carry a small edge stone with you on the hill to remove burrs on metal edges. This quick fix will help tremendously.

For more information on this subject, check out a book on ski or snowboard tuning at your local library.

Edge Tuning Tools
//Edge Sharpener
Available at snowboard and ski shops

// Edge Stone
Available at snowboard and ski shops.

Repairing Stripped Inserts
Stripped inserts are rather simple to repair if they are 6 mm thread. The 6 mm thread is used by most board manufacturers today. If you are unsure of the size of the threads, check with your dealer, or take a mounting screw to the hardware store to see if it threads into a 6 mm nut easily.

The only tools required to do the job are a 1/4-28 (1/4 inch fine thread: 28 threads per inch) bottoming tap and a tap handle. The 1/4-28 thread is slightly larger in diameter than the 6 mm thread, which makes it possible to retap the insert without drilling. If you can't find a bottoming tap, buy a standard tap and grind the tap's tapered portion off. Be sure to cool the tap frequently in water when doing this. If the metal changes color, you have overheated that portion of the tap, and the steel in this portion of the tap is not as hard as the rest of the tap; you should grind this portion off.

Here's how to use the 1/4-28 tap to rethread the insert. Apply oil to the tap prior to tapping the insert. Place the tap in the insert hole and turn it clockwise. Turn the tap backwards a half turn for every full turn forward. This clears the chips out of the tap flutes, and allows the tap to cut more easily. Be careful not to overturn the tap and strip the new threads you've created.

Once you reach the bottom of the insert (the tap won't go any further) remove the tap, blow out all of the chips, and run the tap down the insert once more. Make sure the threads are clear and that you tapped the insert all the way to the bottom. When you remount your bindings, use a 1/4-28 screw in the freshly tapped insert hole.

Since the repaired insert is now a little larger than the rest, it is a good idea to mark this insert, as well as its screw, with a little paint. This will eliminate confusion in the future.

It is important to note that this operation will weaken the insert slightly, and the new thread may not hold as well as the original 6 mm thread. For this reason, it is very important not to over-tighten this screw. Putting some thread locking compound on the screw will keep it from coming loose.

Insert Repair Tools
// 1/4-28 Bottoming Tap and Tap Handle
Available at hardware stores.

// 1/4-28 Screws
Available at hardware stores.

Scraper Maintenance
Keeping a sharp edge on your metal scraper is essential to good waxing and repair work. Sharpening a scraper edge is a fairly simple task. File the edge of the scraper to a 90 degree angle with a mill bastard file, and then debur the edges.

Deburring is done by using the edge stone on the flat surface of the scraper, not the edge. Just rub the stone over the surface a few times, while allowing it to overhang the edge.

Tools You Need
// 8 inch Mill Bastard File
Available at Sears, hardware stores, and snowboard shops.

// Edge stone
Available at Sears, hardware stores, and snowboard shops. A.K.A. fine knife sharpening stone. Recommended size: 3" x 1/2" x 3/4".