Editor’s Note: Essential Outdoor Stuff is presented by Toyota RAV4 Adventure Grade.
You may have noticed that surfboards are quite slippery. Like the slippery-est! And you know what? They don’t wax themselves. Those little gooey beads of traction might be the most underappreciated (and absolutely essential) tools in surfing. Quite simply: You cannot surf without a properly waxed board. And while it’s not an especially complicated process, we figured we’d mansplain it to you, just for kicks.
1. First, strip that disgusting, dirty wax off of your disgusting board. Pro tip: We highly recommend exposing your board to sunlight for just enough time to melt the wax. This makes the removal process quite simple.
2. Use a pickle. They’re awesome.
3. Apply a base coat. Diagonal cross-hatches combined with Mr. Miyagi circles always seems to do the trick.
4. Know the water temp. Grab the wax that corresponds with the current water temperature to optimize your efforts here. Warm water wax doesn’t go so hot in 40-degree water.
5. Once you’ve selected the correct top coat, give it some clock-wise lovin’. Spread the circles across the full deck of your board until you’ve got a surface full of sticky ‘lil bumps. Your feet are gonna love those little bumps.
Now, as Joe Turpel might say, get your feet in the wax. Shred it down real good, you hotdogger, you!
Check out more Essential Outdoor Stuff presented by Toyota RAV4 here:
Episode 1: How to Build a Proper Campfire
