ski/snowboard waxing iron

[stringbeans]

anyone have one they're willing to sell me? i dont want to spend $50 on a new one at the store because i think its a rip off

[MC Hammered]

$50 is worth it since a real wax iron is temperature regulated so it doesn't have temperature spikes that can damage the snowboard.

I've used a cheapo $15 clothing iron from Superstore and it works but it was not as consistent in melting harder waxes into the base of my boards.

$50 for proper iron is worth the investment. Try checking out Crystal Glide on the North Shore as I think he has the Bakoda one on sale.

[stringbeans]

Originally posted by MC Hammered
$50 is worth it since a real wax iron is temperature regulated so it doesn't have temperature spikes that can damage the snowboard.

I've used a cheapo $15 clothing iron from Superstore and it works but it was not as consistent in melting harder waxes into the base of my boards.

$50 for proper iron is worth the investment. Try checking out Crystal Glide on the North Shore as I think he has the Bakoda one on sale.

what's the crystal glide? ive never heard of that place on the north shore before..

i usually go to the boardroom on lonsdale to get my board waxed and whatnot, and they have the bakoda ones there too for $50, and another one where you can change the temperature for $60

[MC Hammered]

Crystal Glide is on Marine Drive and Bewicke. Other than Blackcomb they have probably the best machine in town to tune your board with.

The Bakoda iron has served me well and gets hot enough to melt the Swix CH4 cold wax I use sometimes. A regular iron never gets hot enough to melt the cold condition wax.

A temperature adjustable one would be cool but I would assume that you would be best off with a regular universal wax so the adjustable temp is of no real use. I use the orange colour KUU Big Bertha wax if you want to use it as a guidline.

[stringbeans]

cool.. thanks for the info winston! always a major help :)

you gotta come over sometime and show me how to wax my board heh... i also hear that different surfaces require different amounts of wax? ive got a diamond cut finish on the bottom.. does that mean anything in terms of amounts of wax?

also what kinda wax do you recommend?

[MC Hammered]

Well I am gone on holidays this Sunday so if you want the 15 minute lesson on how to wax and tune your board you are more than welcome to bring your gear over and I'll show you how it is done.

The misconception with waxing is that people think more wax is better.

Actually you want to put as little wax onto the board as possible.

With a sintered base you use the iron to hear up the base and open up the base structure so it can absorb the liquid wax. Once the base has absorbed what it can any extra wax is just wasted.

So you want to melt on a thin layer of wax onto the board and then work the wax into the sturcture as much as you can. You will know if you have used too much wax if you end up scraping off a lot of wax shavings afterwards.

The diamond cut finish or structure is what assists the board in breaking the suction between the surface of the snow and the bottom of the board. This was you glide instead of stick.

You'll feel this more pronounced during spring riding where proper wax and base structure attributes a lot towards how much you can glide on flat spots.

What type of wax to use? As I suggested above, a simple universal was will do you fine if you ride West Coast cement.

The colder waxes wear off slower so they are good on more abrasive surfaces (ie. hardpack) and I use them on the edges of my raceboard and put a universal wax down the middle of the board.

Warm weather waxes are formulated for warm, wet snow or slush.

If you want some quick tips go to www.priorsnowboards.com and read their Board Tech 101.

[stringbeans]

cool, maybe i can learn off a site on the net

im just getting sick of paying $20 every few weeks to get it waxed at a store.. i'd rather do it myself

[MC Hammered]

Go buy the Bakoda iron, citrus wax remover liquid, wax scraper and a orange brick of KUU Big Bertha wax and it'll last you a few seasons. I have half a brick left from 2 seasons ago and I wax 5 boards regularly.

Also go to Superstore and buy a pack of nylon pot scrubbers to use to buff the base of the board and a nylon bathtub hand scrub brush to structure the wax when you are done.

Waxing isn't rocket science... just move the iron slow and put a nice thin layer of wax on the board. You don't have to wax the tip or tail as it just wastes wax and adds nothing in terms of performance.

Work the wax into the base until you feel the underside of the board (the topsheet) become slightly warm. If it is hot stop immediately as too much heat can damage the internal epoxy that binds the board together.

Let the board cool then scrape the wax off using your wax scraper on a 45 degree angle. Scrape as much as you can and you'll understand what I mean by 'too much wax' when you see the pile of shavings.

Then take the nylon pot scrubber and buff the base until it is smooth, then take the brush and brush the base from tip to tail until the base is nice and smooth.

I'll teach you about edges when I get back. :c-tard:

[mister-peenutt]

i just use an old iron i stole from my mom. does me well... but winston is right. it never gets hot enough to melt cold temp wax..

buuut for how much it costed me its perfect.

just go gung ho about waxing your board. its easy as pie!

oh yea. and for 20bux do they do the iron on wax? or do they just run it over the "hot waxer" machine thing?

[stringbeans]

^^ its the iron on wax

[mister-peenutt]

ahh ok.. i saw them on some show and they were talking about waxing and they just used the stupid machine. and if that was what you were getting i'd scream "rip off!"

[charly]

^ that's what they do with my board and they charge $15 for it. i don't care at the moment since i get it free, but i wouldn't pay for that.

[mister-peenutt]

^ yea thats what i used to do when i worked at seymour id just run my board over it all the time. works well for the price :c-tard: