Surfboard wax is simply a modified version of normal wax. It is a crucial substance for surfers of any type. It is applied to the Deck of the surfboard. It prevents a surfer from slipping off his or her's board. There are numerous brands of surfboard wax on the market. There is wax for just about any condition and surfer. Before you grab your board for a surf it is important that surfboard wax is applied to the deck properly. This will ensure that you stay on your board when paddling and also stay upright when surfing along a wave at your favourite break.

So once you have some wax its pretty simple to apply. There are methods to wax a board and give it a 'base coat'. The proper methods for waxing a board can take a fair amount of time to do perfectly. So basically for the time being we will look simply at getting some wax on the board and getting you into the surf.

First of all work out the areas you will be standing and paddling, obviously these are the only areas you need to wax in order to surf. Take the wax out of the plastic / Tub / Box and begin working it onto the deck of your board, work in a circular motion similar to when you buff a car. Just use a minimal amount of pressure and allow the wax to slowly build up. It will take time to build small 'bumps' however if you take the time its worth the effort. Apply it to the areas you wish to stand and paddle on. If you wax the entire board there is no harm done, on a shortboard this is pointless though as there is no way your going to be surfing on the nose. Not unless you enjoy nose diving a fair bit.

Wax Combs

A wax comb is a small plastic device similar to a comb for your hair, in principle it does the same thing. You scrape the wax on your board to bring the course texture out again rather than applying more wax. You can get them at any surfshop and if you have bought a new pair of boardshorts you will often find a wax comb in the pocket of them.

For the time being here is a youtube video to help explain waxing of your board. A full pictorial will be up soon explaining in detail how to go about waxing your board from SurfAus.