Ever wondered why your friend’s board goes faster than yours which inevitably allows him to go bigger off jumps and which makes you really jealous. Well the bottom line is that your friend probably looks after his base better than you do. For all you know he may spend hours every night just preparing his base so he can extract that extra inch of speed out of it.

Since it is only your base and your edges that touch the snow when you are riding, if you ensure that these are kept in peak condition (meaning well waxed and well tuned) then you will be pretty much guaranteed of having a fast board.

We had decided to provide a few tips so as to help you rev your board up and make it go faster.  You can do most of the tuning that your base requires yourself, thereby saving valuable dollars which can spend on your next snowboard adventure. However when major work is required, a snowboard shop may be the only port of call. 

We have advice on both options:

1.  Self Maintenance

2.  Shop Maintenance

Requirements

1.  Edge Tool or file
2.  Wire Brush

Procedure

Unless you are a World Cup snowboard technician I wouldn’t recommend that you sharpen your own edges using files. Although files do the best job, you need to know what you are doing and have your board secured properly in the correct position.

The easiest and most fool-safe way to sharpen your edges is to purchase a special edge sharpening tool. These things are easy to use - its just a matter of running the tool along your edges. Don’t be afraid to use a bit of force. If the Edge Tool becomes clogged with edge filing take your wire brush and clean them off.

Remember there is no need to sharpen your edges as often as you wax your board. In fact, it’s not recommended that you do this since it may cause a concave base and also lead to your edges wearing out super quick.

Requirements

1.  1 x Base Cleaner
2.  1 x Old Rag

Procedure

Before you begin any work on the base of your board, you should clean the base. You can buy a base cleaner from most reputable snowboard shops. The purpose of a base cleaner is to clean all the dirt out of the pours of the base, hence ensuring that your wax job is effective.

Spray the base cleaner onto the base then wipe it off using an hold rag. Remember that you are trying to remove dirt out of the pours of the board.

Requirements

1.  P-Tex Stick/Candle (appropriate colour for your base)
2.  1 x Metal Scraper
3.  1 x cigarette lighter

Procedure

Set your board up so it is horizontal, base facing up. Light your P-Tex stick using the cigarette lighter. Hold the P-Tex stick in your writing hand and the lighter in the other hand. Keep the P-Tex Stick in the flame of the lighter until it is burning by itself. Once the P-Tex Stick is burning put the lighter down and pick up the metal scraper. The idea now is to fill the gouges in the base of your board by dripping the P-Tex into them. The problem is that if the P-Text burns at the wrong temperature it carbonises (turns black) meaning your repair job looks terrible and will most likely fall out after a few days on snow. The idea is to control the temperature of the P-Tex by rolling it against the metal scraper. Any carbonising that occurs on the P-Tex Stick can be rolled off on the metal scraper. By working the P-Tex Stick with the metal scraper you should be able to perform a satisfactory repair. But remember, practice makes perfect. Don’t expect to get it right the first time.

Once the P-Tex has dried in the gouge (this should only take a few minutes) scrape the excess P-Tex off with the metal scraper so that the base is flat again. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of force to remove the excess P-Tex.

Requirements

1.  1 x block of wax
2.  1 x iron with no holes in the base
3.  1 x plastic scraper
4.  1 x soft kitchen scourer
5.  1 x carbide sand paper

Procedure - Waxing

By now your base should be nice and clean. Set your board up so it is horizontal, base facing up. Plug your iron in. Test the heat of the iron by touching the wax against it. If the wax starts to smoke then the iron is too hot. Reduce the temperature of the iron until the smoke from melting the wax is kept to a minimum.

Hold the iron upside down with the pointy end facing your board. Now melt the wax by touching it against the iron. Dribble the wax down the edges first, then down the middle. Remember that the base area closest to your edges gets the most work so you most likely want to use a slightly harder wax here (ie a wax for colder temperatures).

A universal wax is probably sufficient for the centre of your base. Once you have dribbled the wax all over the base, use the iron to evenly distribute the wax over your whole base. Use strong powerful strokes - imagine you are trying to force the wax into the pours of the base. When the top sheet of your board starts to get hot you know the wax is getting in. When you finished waxing, go read a mag and let it dry.

Procedure - Scraping

Now its time to scrape of the excess wax. Remember the only useful wax is in the pours of the base. Any other wax will slow you down. Thus the idea is to scrape off all excess wax. Take your plastic scraper and use long strokes from tip to tail to remove ALL excess wax. If you want to be super technical place your board in a cold place (ie refrigerator) for half an hour or so. Excess wax comes out of the base when the board is chilled. Scrape this wax off.

Finally you need to polish your base to get it up to tip top speed. Use a soft kitchen scourer cloth to remove any excess wax and give the base a nice smooth finish. Next you need to structure the base using a carbide sand paper block. If the snow is cold then the structure should follow the direction of the base ie tip to tail. If however the snow is warm and slushy then you should structure the base at a 30 degree angle. Structuring your base allows the melted snow to leave your base more quickly.

You are now ready to rip it up and go super fast.

Requirements

1.  1 x Phillips Head Screw Driver
2.  1 x Shifter

Procedure

The final step in the DIY Board Maintenance is to inspect your bindings. Your bindings enable you to control your board. So if your bindings are falling apart then it is like trying to drive a car without a steering wheel. Binding Maintenance simply involves checking to see that all screws, both mounting screws and strap screws, are tight. There is nothing worse than losing a screw on the mountain especially on a powder day.

It is also helpful to spray some lubricant (WD-40 is always good) into the moving parts of your bindings ie ratchets and clips. This keeps them running smoothly and prevents them from rusting.

Requirements

1. You will need some cash

Procedure

Go to a snowboard shop. If you have any major gouges in the base of your board then it is probably best to get a shop to repair the P-Tex. By a major gouge I mean a gouge that goes to the core of the board. Most snowboard shops have P-Tex guns which enable the technician to burn the P-Tex at the right temperature. This means the P-Tex does not carbonise (turn black), hence when it dries on your board it will be super strong. DIY jobs are usually prone to falling out.

Requirements

1.  Some more Cash would be helpful

Procedure

Find a snowboard shop. When your base is no longer flat or there are numerous long shallow gouges in the P-Tex then it is best to take your board into a snowboard shop to get the base ground by a special grinding machine specifically designed for snowboards. Be wary of taking your board to a ski shop since a ski base grinder is not really designed for snowboards.

To determine whether your base is still flat perform the following steps:

• Find a ruler
• Drag the ruler along your snowboard

If the whole ruler always touches the whole of your base then your base is flat. If however you can see a space between the ruler and the base, for example in the middle of the base or on the edges, then your base is not flat.

If your base is not flat take it in for a base grind. A base that is not flat makes a board slower and more difficult to control.

Go out and kick your friend’s arse in the speed stakes!