Surfboard Wax 101

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Surfboard wax is exactly what it sounds like—wax for your surfboard. Oh, no great revelations in this section then! There are many different types of wax out there, and they all do exactly the same thing—they stop you from slipping off the surfboard when you are either paddling or up surfing.

At the beginning of a surf, surf wax is applied to the deck of the board in the positions where the feet will be placed. It can also be applied to the rails where the hands will be gripping for duck diving or popping up. (Completely lost by surfing terminology or just by the word terminology? Well, check out the surfboard and the surfing terms pages to make the last bit understandable. Perhaps I should mention that the word "terminology" will not appear in either section, and if you really want to know what it means, then ask your dad.)

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Surf Wax Application

Here are the three essential steps for applying surfboard wax to your board. Ignore them at your peril!
Step 1: Take the plastic off the bar of wax.
Step 2: Rub it on your board. (The wax, not the plastic bit.)
Step 3: Go surfing.

Yes, it is as easy as that. Anyone who says that you need to apply the wax in a circular motion from the tail first or any other rubbish is a buffoon (and probably working elsewhere on this site). The advice we'll give is that as long as you apply plenty of wax, then you should be fine. Also, never apply wax to the bottom of your board. That said, take a look at the video guide to the ultimate board waxing job, courtesy of Mr. Zog himself!

Deck Grip

There is an alternative to having to wax your board time and time again when you could be out there surfing, and that alternative is deck grip. Deck grip is a permanent stick-on pad that is applied to the deck of your board. There are deck grips for the front foot, back foot, or the full deck. However, most surfers who use deck grip will only apply one traction pad for the back foot. You can find more information about deck grip on our site.

Surf Wax Maintenance

Instead of applying wax each time you go out, you can revitalise your old wax with a quick comb from a surf wax comb, available at any surf shop. After a surfing session all the nice wax you applied at the beginning of your surf has been smoothed out, and your board has magically become slippery again. A quick comb will see that wax become much more affective again. Of course this only works up to a point, and you'll inevitably have to fork out some more money for your next block of wax.

Once your board weighs more than 20 kilos, you may realise that the time has come to remove all your old wax from the board and reapply some new wax. To remove all the old wax, use your dad's or older brother's credit card to scrape the deck of the board clean.
(Surfing Waves accepts no responsibility for any subsequent loss or damage to any person or item of property that results in following the ridiculous surfboard cleaning advice given above!)

So, you made it through a whole section on surfboard wax. Pats on the back all round for a job well done! If anyone would like some more information on wax that is not listed on this site, then go and have a long chat with the owner of your local surf shop and pester him or her to answer all your questions. I am sure the owner will only be too happy to help you out.