How To Wax a Surfboard

You may be familiar with the concept of waxing for performance and no I am not talking about hair removal wax!

Most often we hear about people waxing their cars to keep them sleek and shiny looking. Well, surfboards can be waxed too but instead of waxing to make them look shiny, sleek, and slippery -- surfboards are waxed to make the deck sticky. The wax keeps you from slipping off the surfboard.

There are four main types of wax, based on the temperature of the water.

Tropical Wax: for water 75 degrees Fahrenheit and above.

Warm: for water 67 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cool: for water under 67 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cold: for water under 58 degrees Fahrenheit.



How To Apply Surfboard Wax

Predict where your hands and feet will come into contact with the board. These contact points are where you will apply the surfboard wax. Always wax your surfboard while cool and wax your surfboard in a circular motion. This will create sticky bumps (yeah, also the name of the brand above) that will help with traction.

If you run out of wax or do not have enough use a wax comb to stir up the wax that is already on your board and roughen it up. (Flexcomb Pictured Below)



We have Surfboard Wax , Surfboard Waxing Tools and Surfboard Wax Remover in our Girls Surf Shop .

If you are advanced and can predict your contact points, you'll only need to wax the areas you use. As a beginner, a general role is: Shortboards need only be waxed from tail to the middle of the board. Longboards should be waxed from tail to nose.

How To Remove Surfboard Wax

To remove wax, use a wax comb to get the majority off and then follow up with paint thinner, acetone, or surfboard wax remover on a soft cloth to get the rest off. You will want to remove wax as you surf in different climates.

AND just be aware that some surfers can get a rash from wax. Wear a Rash Guard if you have sensitive skin (find out what a Rash Guard is on our Water Surf Gear page.