Hand Wax vs. Machine Wax

I don't know how you can tell while you're there, but on the hill it will feel like you have bad wax, and it will need to be re-done sooner

Since I'm a beginner, I don't know how to tell if my wax isn't good. I don't know what it's suppose to feel like

You can just ask the person if they used a machine or hand waxed it cant you? Are they not trustworthy? If you are that worried about the quality of the wax job i recommend you learn how to wax it yourself. From videos and looks very easy.

check if they removed all the wax from the edge, if they dont, then its a person probably =)

I agree with the others. Buy an iron specifically made for waxing, watch some YouTube videos on waxing, go to the Swix website and also check out the videos there. Once you learn how to wax your own board, you won't have to worry if the person who is waxing your board is doing a quality job or not. You'll spend a little more up front, but in the long run you'll save yourself time and money by doing it yourself. The crappy thing about the machine wax is all the crap that is on the bottom of other boards is on the roller for the machine, so when you wax your board with the machine, that dirt and crud gets transferred to your board. I'd highly recommend doing your own waxes.

the hand wax will probably have lines in it and the machine wax may look shinyer but it all depends on how he hand waxes it. if he used brushes at the end it will have streaks along the bottom and that is a hand wax most likely

Originally posted by rurchan they told me it was a 24 hour turn around for hand wax, but when I came back 2.5 hrs later my board was done. Which makes me think that it was machine waxed and they claimed that it was hand waxed. There was no wax on the edges.

it only takes 10 minutes to wax a board by hand...

If you really want to take care of your board, learn to do it yourself since its easy plus it saves you money in the long run.

You can't scrape too much. Keep scraping until nothing comes off. And you should hold the scraper at a <90 degree angle to the direction you're scraping (i.e. tilted TOWARD the direction you're scraping).

Originally posted by talldude You can't scrape too much. Keep scraping until nothing comes off. And you should hold the scraper at a <90 degree angle to the direction you're scraping (i.e. tilted TOWARD the direction you're scraping).

Waxing your board is soo relaxing, the scent of the wax is nice
Torstein explains it her ----->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giCs8F_6lE8

Originally posted by Krazylegz1485 Originally posted by talldude You can't scrape too much. Keep scraping until nothing comes off. And you should hold the scraper at a <90 degree angle to the direction you're scraping (i.e. tilted TOWARD the direction you're scraping).   I'm pretty sure I heard/saw this once on a tuning clinic video, but I've never been able to succesfully scrape that way.  They say it's to "push" the wax into the base instead of scraping it off/out.  However, I can only get the wax to come off when I scrape it the second way.  Examples:   "Pushing" wax in:   ____\_____  <-- Direction of scrape   Pulling/Scraping wax out (how I do it):   ____/______ <-- Direction of scrape

I usually scrape the way the tuning video you saw said to do.  It helps a lot if you have a sharp scraper.  Just take a file or even your edge tool file at a 90 degree to the scraper and sharpen it.

learn how to hand hot wax for sure. its so much cheaper, easy, and you can make some $ from your friends that are new to boarding and dont know how to wax and are to lazy to learn

TGOZ that video was funny!!

I know this sounds stupid but when I got my board back and smelled the scent, i was like SWEET!! It's smells good, haha

even tho this thread is a year old, it spanned 3 years, so im gonna post in it.

disclaimer: im not an expert, but i have waxed my own snowboards for years.

the easiest way to tell if they machine waxed or hand waxed your board is if there is any wax drippings on the edges/sidewall of your board. if there is, it was hand waxed. but there shouldnt be any wax on the edge of the board, if there is it was lazily hand waxed.

as for everyone telling you to wax your own boards, you shouldn't. they say you only need an iron and wax. thats BS. to do a proper wax you need an iron, wax, a decent scraper, preferably a vice, a scraper cleaner/sharpener, and edging tool, and a little bit of experience. plus you're gonna make a huge mess of the iron you use and the room you wax in.
also, don't take advice from any tuning/detuning guide you read cause it might not suit your riding style at all.

the best thing to do is go to a shop you trust, give them at least 24 hours and tell them exactly what you want. i.e. tuned edges, or detuned, or where you want the detune to start at.

if you do decide to wax your own boards. make sure you scrape off all the wax and do so in a pulling motion rather then a prying motion. you wanna push the wax into the pores of the board and remove any wax remaining on the surface.

^It's really not all that tough to do.  We've been doing our own boards for years.  Once you get the tools they'll last for a while if you take care of them.  I personally like doing my own tuning, makes me feel more connected to my board.

waxing is what allows your board to slide properly.