Should I wax my new board?

[HomerSimpson]

I have new board I'll be riding next week and I'm wondering if I should hot wax it before I take it out. I know it comes "waxed" from the factory, but would it be better to clean the base and rewax it?

[Rampage]

Oh yeah, definitely wax it. The "coating" they put on is a very light wax, and it is very generalized wax. Your area may have different conditions day to day and week to week. What I usually do is wax it pretty heavy, let it set for a day and then clean it up. I use several different kinds of wax, depending on conditions. But the best advice would be to use an all condition kind of wax first, then later apply according to your conditions.

[NoKnees]

What he said. Most of the time you'll want to wax a new board. The factory wax job is okay, but it has usualy dried out before it ever makes it to the end customer. If you see any dry/white looking areas on the base, this is the case. It's easier to notice this on black base's, but you can see it on others as well.

As for the wax job, I like to start with a good cold wax for my base, at least along the edges, and let that set for a day before I scrape and put a universal wax on it (or temp specific if I know what I'll be riding immediately).

The other thing to consider is checking the edges at the tip and tail. Out of the factory they may need to be detuned in the last 1-2 inches of the tip and tail as they can be a little grabby right off the shelf. This is a personal preference though. I tend not to detune much if at all... I like max effective edge... But that's me...

BTW, what board did you end up with?

[SpeedKiller]

I have new board I'll be riding next week and I'm wondering if I should hot wax it before I take it out. I know it comes "waxed" from the factory, but would it be better to clean the base and rewax it?

You should always wax new snowboards to protect the baseplate from scratches.

Sometimes you may find that it is convenient to ride a new board without waxing it, either because you are not used to its performance-speed,carving (mainly racing boards) or because of the snow conditions (ex.ice).

Experienced riders though do not recomend it because:
1. It is better to keep the base made by the factory intact! ;)
2. Reduse the risk of permanent damage to the base and to protect the edges. :cool:
But more important is that its NO FUN without a little wax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :p
NO FUN :o NO GAME

[elex]

I have new board I'll be riding next week and I'm wondering if I should hot wax it before I take it out. I know it comes "waxed" from the factory, but would it be better to clean the base and rewax it?

Depends on the what company & what type of base. If you are getting a new Forum, Arbor, Sapient, StepChild, Flow or Santa Cruz, all these come out of the same factory & the wax job out of the factory is excellent. You don't need to wax it, even after a few days of riding. Graphite bases don't hold wax for very long, so those bases will need a wax after the first day usually, same with extruded.

If you get a Burton, then yes you will, their finishing is very poor. Salomon has great base finishes on their non Chinese boards.
E

[NoKnees]

You'd think you had some inside knowledge or something... ;)

NoKnowledge

[elex]

You'd think you had some inside knowledge or something... ;)

NoKnowledge

Quality is in the details. Most people look at the base graphic & forget the finish. I had a number of manufacturers comment on the base finish of the boards. That's a super important area, you don't want to feel the diecuts or see any gaps between the edges & base. Both of these happen a lot.

[MARK]

Defintely. It's not uncommon to feel graphic lines on die cut bases as well as filled gaps where the edge wraps and meets. I also agree that Salomon has been putting out the best stone grind for the last number of years.