new board, to wax or not
Just after years of asking this question the response given from technicians (mostly well respected ones) is a factory wax will be the best.
Saying that; I usually ask the rep. or investigate with the brand what sort of factory wax it’s had. Rarely have I been told its just a belt wax - but a wax that penetrates the base, almost becomes part of the base that when an iron is applied will lift the factory wax from the base. Maybe I’ve been fed a crapload? And keen to find out any truth to it.
This what I’ve been told - I don’t actually know. I think it makes some sense that the factory would use a wax that chemically matches the base material. A somewhat expensive wax.
I would think most home iron on wax jobs are poorly applied and even worse in their grooming. Eg: the wax I do for general riding differs for powder which is extremely different for raceing. The application is the same.
I’m actually just waxing our two new boards now, the factory wax felt far from dry but to compare to a fresh new hot wax its like compare volleys and asics both will save ya feet from the dirt but one will do it better haha i recommend waxing your new board, its good fun too gives you an excuse to crack a coldy, its the excuse i gave the misses anyway hahaha
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Just after years of asking this question the response given from technicians (mostly well respected ones) is a factory wax will be the best.
Completely disagree there. I have never met one person that would tell me the factory wax is anything than above average. I’ve worked with Olympic skiers in snow school who would accept nothing less than a wax done by themselves.
Saying that; I usually ask the rep. or investigate with the brand what sort of factory wax it’s had. Rarely have I been told its just a belt wax - but a wax that penetrates the base, almost becomes part of the base that when an iron is applied will lift the factory wax from the base. Maybe I’ve been fed a crapload? And keen to find out any truth to it.
Lifting the factory wax from the base? Ask them to explain how works - if it were true then waxing your board at any time would only “lift” the previous wax you gave it. The only truth in that is that leaving a hot iron in spot too long will dry out and lift the effective chemicals out of the base.
I would think most home iron on wax jobs are poorly applied and even worse in their grooming. Eg: the wax I do for general riding differs for powder which is extremely different for racing. The application is the same.
Again, I’d disagree. “Poorly applied” isn’t defined enough. Any hot wax spread over the board is better than a belt wax. It’s hard to mess it up - leave the iron in one spot for too long (pretty much needs to be in one spot for over 30 seconds) or doing a super fast wax on a cold board is about the only damaging or non effective way of waxing. I’m also unsure of the difference between a racing and powder wax - I waxed my board the same way the Olympic skiers in my snow school waxed theirs, as did everyone else.
I didn’t go into detail as I was trying to stay on topic.
Application:
Base cleaned of old wax and dirt
Molten wax applied to a cold base won’t penetrate. Board should be at least room temp.
Bindings tight to board will hold base uneven. Cold metal plates will prevent wax from staying molten around that area and won’t penetrate.
Grooming: Determines how precise the ironing work should be.
Race groom; all excess wax removed so only wax that penetrated base remains allowing for rub on to create more water beading to occur (applied between runs) so that base effectiveness can be utilized.
General groom; thick layer of wax - mainly to protect from small debris (this is the wax I was taught to do do for hire boards). Needs more iron control to achieve even application=less grooming to get even cover from end result.
Powder groom; tip to tail not to heavy not race style.
In rotting or dirty snow a dry base can be more effective than wax for moving forward (not for base longevity)
Wax works by creating a friction layer between the board and snow melting the snow into tiny balls of water that act as ball bearings on the base. That’s what the grooves in the base of a snowboard are for. The mechanics are slightly different for skis
I’d wax it up again mate!!!!! With a decent flourinated wax!!!!!
The factory wax on most boards are just a protective measure, taken mainly so dirt/oils etc don’t get into the pores of the base when in transit and on the shop floor!!!!! And at best will be a standard hydrocarbon wax!!!!!
Goes for a factory detune also!!!!! The factory detune is only light and worth a goin over imo!!!!!
Well i went to falls on the weekend just passed with an ‘untouched’ base, so whatever the factory did is what I rode on and seemed to peform ok, i felt a little slow in parts but that could just have been the ill effects of K2’s moonshine. Im going to give it a good waxing and tune before my next trip up and ill see what the difference is.
in my opinion Wax it when you get it, because Aus snow is mostly man-made its very coarse and it’ll chew threw the factory wax pretty quick, HOWEVER having said that i bought a Capita Horrorscope last year brand new, used it for 10 days on snow, never waxed it once and the base looks nearly new, its still a gun and super fast. I am so damn amazed at how tough and fast their Extruded base is, i was just as fast as my mates who all had lib techs with their fancy sintered compound bases that needed waxing every other day lol
I just waxed my board using oneballjelly warm wax. I dont think ess really thought about what they were advising me on. I wanted an all temp wax but they said this will be the best for perisher. Its range is 0 degrees to -3 degrees. What doi you guys rekon? should I wax it again for july/august with a cool temp wax?
Had a fresh iron on wax last week and it was sticky as hell on the first day (sticky wet snow). Next day I was flying. It was 90% made made snow and the wax job still looks like it was just done, I was hitting rails on each run too.
I’m inclined to now lean toward Mizu’s advice I know his background as owning a shop and dealing with many new boards. I’ll highlight decent flourinated wax!!!!!
But who is really going to spend that money - it’s expensive as!
I’d go for the wax on the newbie board. You’re probably safe without, but it can really depend on what the boards been through before you got it (see riders comments page before). I wouldn’t go for more than a few rides before waxing, but it would depend on the conditions as well. When I bought my first board, I was slack in waxing it, and early season conditions cut and scarred the hell out of my base. Of course those were USA East Coast conditions, and the conditions were generally not very good. Boards I’ve done when i Lived in CO I could afford to be a little slack with the wax cause the snow was regularly champagne Powder quality (as light as champagne bubbles if you’re unfamiliar). In SLT and here in Oz, i prefer the better safe than sorry attitude, lus I like knowing when I get to the hill my sh%&s going to be smooth.
Don’t know if all thats any help, just my 2c
I have had both waxed and unwaxed on new Forum and Allian boards. If the conditions of riding are changing I think it’s worth some new wax or you start some spring riding. The factory wax is decent but people in Oz over wax I find, if you ride for one to two days a season why bother doing it every year?
Had a fresh iron on wax last week and it was sticky as hell on the first day (sticky wet snow). Next day I was flying. It was 90% made made snow and the wax job still looks like it was just done, I was hitting rails on each run too.
I’m inclined to now lean toward Mizu’s advice I know his background as owning a shop and dealing with many new boards. I’ll highlight decent flourinated wax!!!!!
But who is really going to spend that money - it’s expensive as!
When I owned the shop, I didn’t sell snowboards!!!!! (We did deal with Burton & DC however)
And I did let the reps use me as a practice run for their clinics!!!!! Pretty lax atmosphere at our store with beers and pizza made good for a rehearsal????? Plus bein the “know all” bastard that I can be, I used to pull them up on some stuff, which they liked for some reason!!!!! 
Very High fluoro content wax can be expensive, but there are waxes that are semi fluorinated that sell for a reasonable price!!!!!
SWIX BLUE is one, OneBallJay X-Wax is another!!!!! (Although nobody seems to sell the OneBallJay anymore????? 
)
If ya were to use an expensive one, it would just be a little along each edge after ya do a coat of the cheaper fluoro!!!!