If the board doesn’t have the grip you need, the take-off, your turns and other maneuvers won’t work as they should.
That’s why you’ll find surf wax for every condition in our store.
Here you will find the most important steps to ensure that your wax provides enough grip and holds well on your board.
In surfing, there are few things more annoying than slipping during take-off or turns because the board has no grip.
But waxing your surfboard doesn’t mean just slapping wax on it and being done with it… If you do that, in most cases the wax won’t hold well and won’t do you much good in the water.
We’ll show you in 3 steps how to get the perfect wax job and make your wax last well.
The first layer of surfboard wax is called Base Coat and forms the base so that your wax can hold on the board.
For this you best use a Base Coat Wax intended for this purpose. If you don’t have one, you can also use a “Tropical Wax” for warm water temperatures.
Now draw a diamond pattern on your board with the thin side of the wax block. Work with a little pressure and draw strong lines from the rails of your board diagonally upwards to the other side.
This wax layer you pull as far towards the nose as you will stand maximum. With shortboards you usually wax about half of the board, while with longboards you usually wax the entire board. But that depends on the surfer.
When you have finished these diagonal lines in one direction, repeat your work in the other direction to create a diamond pattern. This provides the perfect base for the second layer.
If the base coat fits well and provides a good base for softer wax, go for a wax that suits the water temperature you are surfing in.
At most surf spots on the Atlantic coast, for example, the Warm to Cool Wax does a good job.
Again, take the thin side of the block and work the wax in circular motions over the entire diamond pattern you prepared in the last step. Here you can work with a little less pressure than when waxing the base coat.
It is important here that you work the wax in everywhere where you have created your base coat before and small wax dots are created on the surface.
Check afterwards with the flat of your hand whether your board now offers enough grip for your taste. If not, then repeat this step again until you are convinced.
In the last step you have created a good wax layer to go surfing with. Therefore, let’s go!
It’s best to check the condition of your wax layer before each session so that no nasty surprises await you in the water.
Since your wax is exposed to a mixture of water and sun, it will suffer over time and either harden or loosen a bit.
Therefore, it is important to check its consistency before each session. If your wax is no longer holding well, you can first take a wax comb and carefully roughen the wax. If that doesn’t help anymore, simply go over it with a new layer of wax in circular movements to get a good hold again.
If you do this, keep renewing your wax layer and also surf often, over time you will build up a thick layer of wax that will also turn brown over time.
In principle, you can still surf with it and always apply a new layer.
Every now and then, for example after a surf trip, it is worthwhile to take off the old wax layer. For this purpose, it is best to put the board briefly in the sun so that the wax can soften. Then you can easily remove the old wax with the flat side of a wax comb (or if you don’t have one at hand, also with an old check card) and collect it.
Be sure to dispose or recycle the old wax appropriately.
Surf wax will definitely make your sessions more successful. Especially if you use it correctly.
If you follow these steps, nothing will stand in the way of your session.
Be sure to check to check out or other How to’s as well.
