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Waxing Your Surfboard
Beginner Help: Choosing a Surfboard

Unlike a snowboard where you wax the bottom of the board, surfboard wax goes on the top of the board. Before you get started do a little planning. Figure out what temperature of water you are going to be surfing in, and gather the necessary supplies.

What you're going to need:

• Wax remover
• Wax comb/scrapper
• Basecoat wax
• Water temperature specific topcoat wax

Now, if you already have wax on your surfboard you need to remove the old wax. You can use a wax remover, which you can buy at just about any surf shop to soften the wax, or you could just set your board out in the sun for a while to get the wax nice and soft. When the wax is soft use a wax comb/scrapper to strip the wax. Now you're ready to apply a nice fresh coat of wax.

First, apply a thin layer of the basecoat to your board. Next, grab your topcoat wax. If you are going to be surfing in water that is between 64 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit use a topcoat wax that is made for warmer water, and if you are surfing in water that is around 58 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit use a topcoat wax that is made for cooler water temperatures. Apply the topcoat wax using long, quick, strokes. Use light pressure when applying the topcoat to get nice beads of wax.

Ahhhh, now you have a nice clean coat of wax on your board and you won't slip off the next time you make that bottom turn.

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After a few surfing lessons you should have a good idea about the size of board that you will be comfortable on as a beginner. The Soft Top you probably learned on was long, wide, and heavy; which was fairly stable and easy to catch waves with, but somewhat difficult to control.

For most beginning surfers a funshape or egg is a good board to start with; shapes that are wide, thick, and long. As a beginner, your board should be around 12 to 14 inches longer than you are tall. Look for a board around 6'8" to 8' long, and at least 20" wide. Something long, but not too long, and wide will give you the stability you need but still be easy to control. For a beginner, a board over 9' long will be hard to control and a short board will be unstable.

Rent a few boards in different lengths and shapes before you dive into buying your first board.

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