The abrasiveness of the snow conditions can wear away the wax coating on the bottom of your snowboard and expose the board's polyethylene base. The wax wears away in small sections; the base burn appears as small, light grey or white spots on the bottom of your snowboard. You can avoid future base burn by adding a thick coat of wax on the bottom of your board, keeping the iron moving across your snowboard while melting the wax and letting the wax and board cool between coats.
Step 1
Remove the bindings from your snowboard. Turn the snowboard over with the base facing up.
Step 2
Spray the base of your snowboard using a spray bottle filled with water and 1 tsp. of dishwashing soap.
Step 3
Sand the wet base of the snowboard with 80- to 400-grit waterproof sandpaper attached to a rounded, rubber sanding block. The grit of the sandpaper is determined by the temperature of the snow you typically ride on --- the colder the snow temperature, the finer the grit.
Step 4
Drag the sanding block from the tip of the snowboard to the tail using a rocking motion. Do not place pressure on the sanding block as you sand your board. Pull the block rather quickly, taking about 2 seconds to drag the block down the length of your board.
Step 5
Keep the base of your snowboard wet by spraying the board with soapy water after every three or four passes of the sandpaper. After 10 or 12 passes, rinse the sanding block and sandpaper under running water to keep the sandpaper clean.
Step 6
Wipe the base of the snowboard clean with a wet cloth to remove the soapy water and residue once you have removed enough base material to create an even surface. Dry your baseboard well with paper towels.
Step 7
Make two or three passes with a steel snowboard scraper. Do not apply pressure on the scraper. Wipe the base of the snowboard with a piece of green fibertex two or three dozen times.
Step 8
Heat the snowboard waxing iron to 300 F, then touch an all-temperature wax bar to the bottom of the hot iron. Drag the wax bar across the surface of the snowboard to provide a thin coat of wax prior to placing the iron on the board. Touch the bar to the iron as often as necessary to cover the entire surface of the board
Step 9
Melt the wax to your snowboard by placing the iron directly onto the board. Pull the iron slowly from the tip to the base of your board. Do not let the snowboard waxing iron remain stationary.
Step 10
Scrape the edges of the snowboard using the notch cut into the end of a plastic wax scraper to remove the wax from the metal edges. Let the board and wax cool for 2 hours.
Step 11
Scrape the base of the snowboard by holding the plastic scraper at a 45-degree angle, drawing the scraper toward you from the tip of the board to the tail. Make one pass over the board with the scraper.
Step 12
Brush the surface of the wax with a nylon-bristled oval snowboard brush. Brush in one direction from the tip to the tail of the snowboard.
Step 13
Spray the base of the board with clean water and make one final pass across the surface of the snowboard base with the oval brush.
Things You'll Need
- Phillips or slotted screwdriver
- Spray bottle
- Dishwashing soap
- 80- to 400-grit waterproof sandpaper
- Rubber sanding block
- Cloth
- Paper towels
- Steel snowboard scraper
- Green fibertex
- Snowboard waxing iron
- All-temperature wax bar
- Plastic snowboard wax scraper
- Nylon-bristled oval snowboard brush
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