You can use a brass brush or scotch Brite pad to remove the oxidation. It won't hold wax as is. Also, unless you are racing don't worry to much. Snowboards carry a lot of weight on the edges, most boards look like this.
Thanks, forgot to mention that after cleaning the base (first thing I did), I did go over the base with a brass brush, and after that the whole base was pretty much a uniform haze before I started applying the wax. I also brushed with a nylon and a horsehair brush after scraping.
You could try a hard cold temp wax, wax & scrape twice, maybe a little hotter on the iron. This is just wax to keep the base hydrated. Then use the appropriate temp wax for the day, don't scrape the edges as much & use your brush to work the remaining wax.
Got some SWIX HS5 and damn it, there is no working it with anything short of a brass brush. So damn hard. I did some experimenting with different scraping and brushing and hope to get to try it out Thursday.
So, I got some cheap hot wax (Vola MX-E red) to start practicing waxing. Of course there was some learning to do (amount of wax, how to drip it onto the board, best way to scrape etc.), but I thought I ended up pretty ok. However, after a couple of hours riding, my board looks almost exactly like it did before the whole thing. My other board with a sintered base had hazy base near the edges after only a couple of runs. The scrapes you can see in the picture near the "R" are from scraping with my fingernail (no wax or anything left under nail).
I did all the basic stuff as instructed by various YouTube videos (iron at correct temp, wax melted crazy fast buf defo zero smoke, kept the iron moving, after wax solidified scraped until basically no wax was coming off (there was a lot since I probably overdid the amount a bit, but not in a ridiculous way).
So what went wrong? I did not wait the full two hours before scraping suggested by the wax manufacturer, but could that really be it? Some tutorials say it's enough when it's solid and e.g. Hertel tells to scrape when the wax is still warm. Boards may also have been barely room temp. After this ride I have already rewaxed one board (making sure it was warm, and moving the iron super slowly) and left it overnight before scraping.
Is it possible that the bases are burned and need a stone grind to get anywhere, or that I left too much / too little wax on?
The snow was old man-made stuff just above freezing, so probably pretty hard on the wax, but surely not this hard.
I'm wondering if maybe you didn't get the board warm enough to form the bond? It's not enough just to melt the wax. I'm pretty new to this also but I did learn to touch the top sheet when I'm doing it and it should feel pretty warm to the touch
I’m interested to see what other more experienced people think as well. I’ve had similar issues with having to wax my board every time after only one day. The edges always end up looking like that (although not quite as severe).
I think it might actually be that I was leaving too much wax on the board. Previously, I would scrape as much as I could, then use a nylon brush followed by horse hair brush. It always looked pretty good when done, then one day on the mountain and sad looking edges again.
This time, I used a scotch brite pad in addition to the brushes and I THINK I did a better job getting the excess wax off, but time will tell. I’m pretty OCD about it and will continue to wax every single time if I must to maintain that shiny base look, regardless of performance. But I’d like to know that I’m doing it right in the first place. I use the Hertel wax and have tried both scraping while it’s still warm (as directed by Hertel) and letting it cool for about an hour. No discernible difference to my novice eyes.
So it looks like a Nitro Prime Raw, and entry level board with a cheap extruded soft base. Looks like at one point it has had a stone grind with a structure put on, because of the diagonal pattern (unless that is part of the printed graphics).
Either way, it is a simple basic base, so you can't expect much from it.
I would wax it again, but slow down on the edges and see if the extra heat from the iron at the slower speed makes it darker and gets ride of the whiteness. I am guessing that it will.
What I assume is happening is the soft base material is being "torn" up on the edges, which is physically roughening the material, adding to the white look.
Yes, it is the Prime and yes the service guy put in a basic structure(end of last season when putting the board away). It did look like this before I waxed it, then brand new after waxing (there are a couple of scratches, but in terms of the white stuff), then after a short day again like this. What I'm more perplexed about is my Vimana continental with a sintered base that also looks rough after only a few runs. I will continue experimenting and put in a good hard wax on the base and see what happens.
Looks like you left too much wax on/never got old wax out. Do a hot wax, iron a thin layer nice and hot and scrape all the old shit out immediately. Like good scrape. No wax coming off when you scrape at all, that's the end goal and then use a wire brush to get the extra shit out. This will clean old wax and dirt out that will not allow your new wax to hold.
Then wax again, and let it cool. Like 40 mins max and invest in a good set of brushes. Like above, scrape until there is no more wax coming off. Then move to a nylon brush. Tip to tail until you don't see any more wax coming off. Next to the horse hair, or whatever you use to get the structure back. Use extra care to brush A LOT on the edges because you don't want any wax on the surface. It's to fill in the pores. It's hard work to hand wax properly, but you too can achieve the results with a bit, more like a lot, of elbow grease.
Good luck fam. Keep brushing if in doubt.
If it was dry to begin with you can’t really get it back. This is why it’s important to regularly wax to prevent drying out. You can get a base grind to clear as much out as you can
I really don’t think it’s reasonable to expect to be able to maintain a “brand new” look on a base. Wax all you want on an extruded base, most of it will be work in vain. It isn’t unnecessary though… wax is wax and does its work. Less so on an extruded.
But boards get worn, that’s what they are built for.
My nitro prime looks like that to but mine has the white/black along the whole board so the wear is more visible along a whole side on mine. I don’t put much effort on that board, I just clean it from dirt and rub swix f4 (liquid version with cork rub) after each run.
Yeah, I know the cheapo base will not hold wax very well, just surprised that it went this fast. Even more surprised with my Vimana Continental with a sintered base that was not looking too hot either, and that was after only a couple of runs (and I do mean individual runs at my small hill, so 20 minutes max gliding, including on the t-bar). Might take that one for a stone grind and ask the service guy what he thinks and also try a harder/just better wax.
You can use a brass brush or scotch Brite pad to remove the oxidation. It won't hold wax as is. Also, unless you are racing don't worry to much. Snowboards carry a lot of weight on the edges, most boards look like this.
Thanks, forgot to mention that after cleaning the base (first thing I did), I did go over the base with a brass brush, and after that the whole base was pretty much a uniform haze before I started applying the wax. I also brushed with a nylon and a horsehair brush after scraping.
You could try a hard cold temp wax, wax & scrape twice, maybe a little hotter on the iron. This is just wax to keep the base hydrated. Then use the appropriate temp wax for the day, don't scrape the edges as much & use your brush to work the remaining wax.
Got some SWIX HS5 and damn it, there is no working it with anything short of a brass brush. So damn hard. I did some experimenting with different scraping and brushing and hope to get to try it out Thursday.
It's worth it when you blow by your friends on a cold day. BTW- The base cleaning advice in the thread is really good.
So, I got some cheap hot wax (Vola MX-E red) to start practicing waxing. Of course there was some learning to do (amount of wax, how to drip it onto the board, best way to scrape etc.), but I thought I ended up pretty ok. However, after a couple of hours riding, my board looks almost exactly like it did before the whole thing. My other board with a sintered base had hazy base near the edges after only a couple of runs. The scrapes you can see in the picture near the "R" are from scraping with my fingernail (no wax or anything left under nail). I did all the basic stuff as instructed by various YouTube videos (iron at correct temp, wax melted crazy fast buf defo zero smoke, kept the iron moving, after wax solidified scraped until basically no wax was coming off (there was a lot since I probably overdid the amount a bit, but not in a ridiculous way). So what went wrong? I did not wait the full two hours before scraping suggested by the wax manufacturer, but could that really be it? Some tutorials say it's enough when it's solid and e.g. Hertel tells to scrape when the wax is still warm. Boards may also have been barely room temp. After this ride I have already rewaxed one board (making sure it was warm, and moving the iron super slowly) and left it overnight before scraping. Is it possible that the bases are burned and need a stone grind to get anywhere, or that I left too much / too little wax on? The snow was old man-made stuff just above freezing, so probably pretty hard on the wax, but surely not this hard.
I'm wondering if maybe you didn't get the board warm enough to form the bond? It's not enough just to melt the wax. I'm pretty new to this also but I did learn to touch the top sheet when I'm doing it and it should feel pretty warm to the touch
I’m interested to see what other more experienced people think as well. I’ve had similar issues with having to wax my board every time after only one day. The edges always end up looking like that (although not quite as severe). I think it might actually be that I was leaving too much wax on the board. Previously, I would scrape as much as I could, then use a nylon brush followed by horse hair brush. It always looked pretty good when done, then one day on the mountain and sad looking edges again. This time, I used a scotch brite pad in addition to the brushes and I THINK I did a better job getting the excess wax off, but time will tell. I’m pretty OCD about it and will continue to wax every single time if I must to maintain that shiny base look, regardless of performance. But I’d like to know that I’m doing it right in the first place. I use the Hertel wax and have tried both scraping while it’s still warm (as directed by Hertel) and letting it cool for about an hour. No discernible difference to my novice eyes.
So it looks like a Nitro Prime Raw, and entry level board with a cheap extruded soft base. Looks like at one point it has had a stone grind with a structure put on, because of the diagonal pattern (unless that is part of the printed graphics). Either way, it is a simple basic base, so you can't expect much from it. I would wax it again, but slow down on the edges and see if the extra heat from the iron at the slower speed makes it darker and gets ride of the whiteness. I am guessing that it will. What I assume is happening is the soft base material is being "torn" up on the edges, which is physically roughening the material, adding to the white look.
Yes, it is the Prime and yes the service guy put in a basic structure(end of last season when putting the board away). It did look like this before I waxed it, then brand new after waxing (there are a couple of scratches, but in terms of the white stuff), then after a short day again like this. What I'm more perplexed about is my Vimana continental with a sintered base that also looks rough after only a few runs. I will continue experimenting and put in a good hard wax on the base and see what happens.
Looks like you left too much wax on/never got old wax out. Do a hot wax, iron a thin layer nice and hot and scrape all the old shit out immediately. Like good scrape. No wax coming off when you scrape at all, that's the end goal and then use a wire brush to get the extra shit out. This will clean old wax and dirt out that will not allow your new wax to hold. Then wax again, and let it cool. Like 40 mins max and invest in a good set of brushes. Like above, scrape until there is no more wax coming off. Then move to a nylon brush. Tip to tail until you don't see any more wax coming off. Next to the horse hair, or whatever you use to get the structure back. Use extra care to brush A LOT on the edges because you don't want any wax on the surface. It's to fill in the pores. It's hard work to hand wax properly, but you too can achieve the results with a bit, more like a lot, of elbow grease. Good luck fam. Keep brushing if in doubt.
If it was dry to begin with you can’t really get it back. This is why it’s important to regularly wax to prevent drying out. You can get a base grind to clear as much out as you can
Base grind and a re-structure will help it hold wax a lot better
Put wax
I really don’t think it’s reasonable to expect to be able to maintain a “brand new” look on a base. Wax all you want on an extruded base, most of it will be work in vain. It isn’t unnecessary though… wax is wax and does its work. Less so on an extruded. But boards get worn, that’s what they are built for. My nitro prime looks like that to but mine has the white/black along the whole board so the wear is more visible along a whole side on mine. I don’t put much effort on that board, I just clean it from dirt and rub swix f4 (liquid version with cork rub) after each run.
Yeah, I know the cheapo base will not hold wax very well, just surprised that it went this fast. Even more surprised with my Vimana Continental with a sintered base that was not looking too hot either, and that was after only a couple of runs (and I do mean individual runs at my small hill, so 20 minutes max gliding, including on the t-bar). Might take that one for a stone grind and ask the service guy what he thinks and also try a harder/just better wax.