Surfboard wax recipe

[SteveF]

Anyone know how to make wax or have a decent recipe?? In desperate need for some knowledge about this as i'm down my last half bar of wax and no way to replace in the near future. Living in Sumatra, and the nearest shops are in Bali or Singapore. No travelling surfers in this part of the world. Tried having stuff shipped via Indonesia post (blackhole) waste of time/money. I actually had a supply ready to travel with, and it accidentally got packed in a box in storage...
Have seen a recipe online for natural beeswax style....Can't find beeswax-have asked all over the place. What i can get are store-bought candles. Pretty sure when I was a kid I remember seeing old surf movies where they melted candles onto their boards. Geussing that the candles in those days were beeswax or paraffin?? Not sure what they make them from these days - but absolutely useless and slippery. Theres so little wax on my boards that it makes turning impossible/dangerous - have to straight line waves Any tips/ suggestions would be greatly appreciated. On my next visa run will be buying as much wax as I can get a hold of - but thats a month away.

[jaffa1949]

There is a recipe on this very forum,
https://surfing-waves.com/howto/make_surf_wax.htm I think you will struggle to get the ingredients anyway the natural formula might do it, try it.

take it greasy

[billie_morini]

ooh, this is a little bit like the Colonel's secret recipe for crispy Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

The fastest thing to do and this may be do-able where you are: get some Gulf paraffin wax. Here is what it looks like:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/10420578?wmls ... 90&veh=sem

Grandma uses this to seal the jars of fruits and vegetables she cans to provide winter food. This is the primary ingredient in the recipe Jaffa linked above. It has industrial and chemistry lab uses, too. This is why I think you can get it where you are.

[billie_morini]

steve,
just had another idea. Contact this surf camp in south sumatra. Maybe they can direct you to a source or maybe they'll share some wax with you.

http://www.paradisesurfcampsumatra.com/home/

[billie_morini]

whoops, steve! One final idea: buy some big candles. Get some long white ones and a few bees wax ones.

Given your location, you may be a candidate for the films applied to boards that do away with waxing. That could help you in the future.

[SteveF]

I decided to pull the eject button from Indo earlier than planned. No wax, can't surf - no use sitting around. Currently in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. An unlikely place to buy wax you would think, but searching around on the net, found theres a die-hard surf crew here which i tracked down on facebook. This is the place my wife and I come for visa runs anyways - we've just come earlier than usual.
Anyways after a couple days of missed calls, unreturned emails..things were looking grim. Sounds like I'm making this up but this arvo was sitting in a Kopi Tiam (coffee shack) in downtown Johor Bahru resigned to the fact that I would go home wax-less, I look up and see what looked like the tops of some beat up old boards through a shop window. Walk over and look in and theres a little surf shop called "Lala Loco" owner's name is Lala - selling wax, old boards, clothes, leg ropes etc. Wax looks real old and the paper packaging all deteriorated - but the wax itself looks fine. He imported it from Bali for the local city surfers who live/work here. The closest body of water from here is the straits of Johor - from here you can look across to singapore - flat as a lake, you wouldn't think there surf here??. The surfers from here, I'm told head East, to the south china sea side, and out to places like Pulau Tioman - not world class but enough for them them to stay stoked.They showed me pics on their phones of a contect that was held a few days ago. Anyways - Like striking gold I tell ya Bought the 5 bars he had in stock and he made a phone call to a friend he knows at another surf shop who will bring around a stack tomorrow - some imported organic south american brand that works well (apparently). My impression of Malay surfers are really hospitable people - they were keen to hear stories about where I live - made some great new friends. Picking another 10 bars of the organic stuff - that should see me out for a while. Price is about a dollar more expensive than what we normally pay in Australia - but all things considered...stoked

Thanks for all the tips and info. You don't realise how important wax is untill you run out. Determined to perfect making my own. Tracking down beeswax (lillin lebah), has proved elusive so far, figure i just need to track down local honey producers.

Thanks for the suggestion to try http://www.paradisesurfcampsumatra.com/home/ - thats about 12 hours bus drive from where I live in Bengkulu, Sumatra - longer on a scooter . Easier to fly to Batam, Indonesia>catch a fast boat to Johor Bahru - only takes about 4 hours.
cheers
Waxed up Steve

[jaffa1949]

Steve if you have make the visa run, maybe you have an address where you could receive a deck grip clear sheeting , it's called Versa and the distributor in Australia is Riley balsa surfboards? I've used it the same decking for two years now on my Indo runs so I know it stands up to the heat and warm water. NO wax needed, and great grip! Slightly prone to wearing more with booties and also extremely grippy with them. A little getting used to!

I'll post a picture when I get on the computer!

[billie_morini]

SteveF,
Really great stories from you! Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences in far away places.
billie