How to get the best looking wax job!

[Matin]

Two years in and I still suck balls at getting a nice looking coat on my stick. HEeeelp!

[waikikikichan]

You're probably pushing down too hard. The peaks get smashed down.

You could try the Hash Marks / checker board technique.

Screenshot 2018-05-02 at 7.34.56 AM.png (262.02 KiB) Viewed 768 times

Put the wax bar on edge and draw diagonal lines from rail to rail. Strong pressure is okay for that part.
2nd part, lay the bar flat and do light circles.

What temperature wax(es) you're using ? What the air and sea temperature ?

[oldmansurfer]

I haven't ever cared about how my wax job looked, just how it works and it works fine. I do small circles starting off then larger ones after

[BaNZ]

I haven't ever cared about how my wax job looked, just how it works and it works fine. I do small circles starting off then larger ones after

Same here. There are also days when the wave is so good that I bring my wax into the water and wax it up while waiting at the line up!

[jaffa1949]

Brazilian

[oldmansurfer]

I haven't ever cared about how my wax job looked, just how it works and it works fine. I do small circles starting off then larger ones after

Same here. There are also days when the wave is so good that I bring my wax into the water and wax it up while waiting at the line up!

Yeah when you are surfing 4 to 6 hours straight you will need to rewax a lot

[oldmansurfer]

If you want free wax you can go here (apparently one of our sponsors) http://www.waxcenter.com/

[jaffa1949]

If you want free wax you can go here (apparently one of our sponsors) http://www.waxcenter.com/

I think a Bot wrote that!

[oldmansurfer]

I was just trying to make a joke but failed

[Big H]

Pressure is everything......I took a tip from WKK and started to wax going progressively lighter in touch....really makes the bumps stand up.

[oldmansurfer]

Did you know there was a surf wax museum?http://www.surfwaxmuseum.com/ I was wondering how many types of wax there are. There is a bunch but locally they always sell tropical wax. Go figure.... I am mean we are in the subtropics I also wonder if there are surfboard waxing competitions? Seems like something for surfers to do when there is no surf but can't find any signs of one anywhere. I started out surfing using paraffin wax and you would never find me without a piece in my pocket. When I surfed I would wear through the wax coat and have to reapply it at least once in every surf session. Sometimes the wax got lost then have to go rub sand on the board to rough up the wax. Now I surf for less than an hour and the wax survives that ok. I wax the board before it goes in my car but I keep a piece of melted wax in a plastic bag in my car just in case. I am getting older you know I think possible help for the original poster is to use a base coat of harder wax, wax meant for colder temperatures than what you should be using. The apply the correct wax over that. I do that if I have the wax available at the time I am removing and reapplying wax to my boards. If you think you suck because the wax comes off before you are done surfing take some wax in your boardshorts or wetsuit to reapply it. Perhaps if you keep the wax in a cold area warm it up before you apply it. cold wax doesn't go on as well (just my opinion)

[IanCaio]

You're probably pushing down too hard. The peaks get smashed down.

You could try the Hash Marks / checker board technique.

Screenshot 2018-05-02 at 7.34.56 AM.png

Put the wax bar on edge and draw diagonal lines from rail to rail. Strong pressure is okay for that part.
2nd part, lay the bar flat and do light circles.

What temperature wax(es) you're using ? What the air and sea temperature ?

That looks good!

I probably would mess it up in a week, because I usually just go waxing over old wax
Maybe I should remove the old wax before it starts getting black..

[RinkyDink]

I don't really think much about waxing my board these days. In the beginning I used to put wax along the top of my rails so my hands wouldn't slip during my popups. I don't grab my rails with the palms of my hands as much as I used to. These days I usually press down on the deck of my board with my palms. Anyway, my point is that the last change in the way I wax my board was when I realized that too much wax along my rails prevented my legs from sliding along the rails smoothly. That was a problem because I needed to go from sitting on my board to sliding into a prone position quickly in order to take off on certain waves. When I paddle toward a wave, sit up quickly, then turn my board around fast to position myself for takeoff, I need my rails smooth.

[Tudeo]

I need my rails smooth.

Interesting point.

I wax the top of my rails so I've got a good grip on my board after a wipeout in the impact zone and every second counts. I had my hands slip of the board before and because of that being too late to get out of trouble.

Also I don't have a problem with waxed rails when moving from a seated position into prone. Maybe that's because I do it dynamically. I turn and, separating my body from the board, push down the board vertically holding the rail next the nose. If I time it right I can give one good (frog)kick with the legs to add to the forward motion of the buoyancy bounce of the board.

On rare occasion (working on that), with perfect timing and a cooperating wave, I can get in this way without any paddling. But for sure it gives u a head start before you begin paddling for the wave.

[RinkyDink]

Also I don't have a problem with waxed rails when moving from a seated position into prone. Maybe that's because I do it dynamically. I turn and, separating my body from the board, push down the board vertically holding the rail next the nose. If I time it right I can give one good (frog)kick with the legs to add to the forward motion of the buoyancy bounce of the board.

On rare occasion (working on that), with perfect timing and a cooperating wave, I can get in this way without any paddling. But for sure it gives u a head start before you begin paddling for the wave.

I do that too, but sometimes when I'm swinging my board around I actually get my thighs involved in turning the board (torso rotation while squeezing the board with my legs) and then slide into prone position to start my paddle. Getting my board turned around quickly for a wave is one of those techniques I'm still refining.

With that said, when it comes to waxing, I wax the top of my rails along the areas where I typically grab or hold onto my board. One thing I've learned through experience is that I don't hold onto my board near the fins. If I'm in the impact zone while sets are rolling through, I don't want to be holding onto my board anywhere near my fins, especially when I'm getting thrashed around in white water. If I can get control of the front of the board and hold onto it, then I'll do my best to keep it under my control. What that means in terms of my waxing is that I don't wax along the top of my rails on the lower half of my board. I want the rails along the lower half of my board to be smooth so my legs can slide into prone position more easily. On the upper half of my board where I typically hold onto it, I wax along the top of the rails all the way up to the nose. I prefer my boards, even my shortboards, to be sticky on the deck all the way up to the nose so I can hold onto them easier. However, I keep the waxing light along the deck at the top of my board since I just want to have some grip in that area.

[oldmansurfer]

I used to wax the rails in the front where I held on to the board when duck diving or turning turtle. I think it used to help but I had such a good grip back in those days I actually pressure dinged my board holding on too tight. I was trying to duck dive but ended up getting sucked back over the falls and at least a one and a half head over heels underwater somersault . I felt the crush occur and checked immediately after and there were three individual finger dents in that area on both sides. In my old age I don't think it helps I tried waxing and still can't hang on most often.

[RinkyDink]

I used to wax the rails in the front where I held on to the board when duck diving or turning turtle. I think it used to help but I had such a good grip back in those days I actually pressure dinged my board holding on too tight. I was trying to duck dive but ended up getting sucked back over the falls and at least a one and a half head over heels underwater somersault . I felt the crush occur and checked immediately after and there were three individual finger dents in that area on both sides. In my old age I don't think it helps I tried waxing and still can't hang on most often.

Old Iron Grip

[oldmansurfer]

Old Iron Grip

Not anymore

[Big H]

I used to wax the rails in the front where I held on to the board when duck diving or turning turtle. I think it used to help but I had such a good grip back in those days I actually pressure dinged my board holding on too tight. I was trying to duck dive but ended up getting sucked back over the falls and at least a one and a half head over heels underwater somersault . I felt the crush occur and checked immediately after and there were three individual finger dents in that area on both sides. In my old age I don't think it helps I tried waxing and still can't hang on most often.

In my third month of surfing I pearled and got pitched by an overhead wave.....in the aftermath I found that I'd cracked the rails on both sides of the board, actually putting holes on both rails because of old iron grip......

[waikikikichan]

Found these photos on a post from Matsunosuke Kugenuma on Facebook. It shows an example of a criss-cross wax job.