Snowboard Care: 5 Easy Methods for Maintenance

Anyone who loves snowboarding knows that the board is an essential piece of equipment for us; let’s get reacquainted with snowboarding before we understand the maintenance of snowboarding.

Snowboard is a professional skiing equipment, its basic structure is mainly composed of core, edge, sole and sole bindings and other key components; each structure plays its role. The core material affects your flexibility, the edge metal strip provides grip, the sole provides speed and abrasion resistance, and the bindings mainly fix the boot to the board. The different structures make up this amazing riding snow powder equipment.

So here’s the question. Have you ever had a problem with scratches or edge wear on the surface of your skis while skiing? If you have, then I think you really need this guide to proper ski care.

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Cleaning your skis before and after use

You may have some idea why you need to clean your skis before use. In fact, this problem is also very simple. A long period of time will make your board fall on dust and dirt, and in some cases, the last time you skied after cleaning is not complete, resulting in part of the mud and sand still retained on the board, so clean before skiing, can reduce the friction between the snow, improve the speed and flexibility of skiing .

Not cleaning your board in time will lead to a significant decline in the performance of your board, after skiing, snow, water and wax, dust, sand, resin and other elements adhering to the board surface, these dirt will reduce the performance of your board. Worse still, it may accelerate its wear and tear, resulting in its reduced life, affecting its safety performance when skiing. Therefore, regular cleaning of the ski is the key to maintaining good performance.

If you want to show off your style on the ski slopes, then a clean and tidy ski will definitely make you feel more confident and refreshed. Of course, if you don’t mind your skis looking like a piece of junk that has been played with, then you can ignore the cleaning step.

Checking for ski damage

Checking the condition of your skis is like going to the hospital on a regular basis. When checking for minor injuries, the cost is minimal; but once you know you’re sick after the onset, it’s usually costly.

When inspecting a ski for damage, we need to carefully tube the surface of the ski in all areas, especially on the edges and floors that are prone to wear and tear, to make sure it hasn’t cracked badly while skiing. Or dents. Some minor wear and tear is generally quite normal and usually does not affect the life of the board or the ski speed too much; however, it is important to note that once cracks start to appear, special attention should be paid during subsequent inspections to see if they have been enlarged.

Inspection not only by observing appearance, but also through the hand touch to feel the board surface and the edge of whether the flat, . When there is a clear bump situation, you need to repair or replace it.

Of course, checking the skis is a patience test. If you are not focused enough, a lot of subtleties may be overlooked; if you are like me when I first started skiing, you check yourself and repair it without knowing enough, leading to a worse situation and eventually spending more money on a professional mechanic to fix it. Although I am not using it anymore, it is still Although I’m not using it anymore, it’s still in my collection as one of my boards.

Ski Adjustment

Adjusting your skis is a very important task for all snowboarders. It is directly linked to your skiing experience, and the right way to adjust your skis can make you flexible in the snow, while the wrong way can lead to a bad ski trip. Here are some methods and steps to follow when making adjustments:

Adjust the bindings: The bindings are used to hold the ski boots in place, and they need to fit tightly to the boots to work better. Too loose or too tight will affect your skiing experience, make sure the comfort level is just right when skiing.

Adjusting the angle of the edge: The angle of the edge will affect the curve of your turn while skiing. Generally different levels of skiers need different edge angle settings. Usually between 0-5 degrees is more suitable for new skiers, because the smaller edge is more stable.

Adjusting the board shape: usually is to change the curvature of the board, by changing its curvature can change the performance to adapt to different skiing conditions. Generally speaking, adjusting the shape does not apply to all people. Before adjusting, you also need to prepare some equipment, such as a heat gun, as well as to ensure that your board has some toughness. For low speed skiers, a rounded shape is usually enough.

Adjust the blade: the blade is a key to better control and cutting snow, usually need to adjust the side edge and the bottom edge, but this requires professional tools, usually go to the maintenance center for adjustment.

Repairing scratches and dents on the board

Fixing imperfections is a fun process, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment to have your ski repaired step by step. I’ve been able to have this experience on many occasions, maybe it’s a delicate relationship between me and the board; without further ado, let’s get right to the point, about how to fix it, you need,

Prepare tools:

• Skateboard scraper or scraper
• Professional filling materials (filling paste, repair glue, hot melt wax, etc.)
• Grinder or hand grinder
• Professional lubricant

Repair steps:

1. Clean the surface: First, you need to clean the surface with a skateboard scraper or squeegee to remove the dust and impurities from the surface and make sure the surface is dry, flat and clean. This step is important because only when the surface is clean, the subsequent repair work can be more effective and precise.
2. Fill the depressions: Fill the depressions with a special filler until the filler is slightly above the surface of the ski.
3. Smoothing the surface: After the filler material has dried, the filled part needs to be smoothed with a smoothing machine or a hand grinder to make it flat with the surface of the board. This step is also very critical, because only when the filler is flat with the surface of the board, the ski can keep good gliding performance.

4. Manual scratch repair: For scratches, you can use a board grinder and a manual repair tool to repair them. For small scratches, you can use fine sandpaper to lightly sand them. For deeper scratches, you need to use professional repair tools.
5. Lubricate the bottom of the board: Finally, don’t forget to apply the special wax for skis to maintain good gliding performance.

If you don’t have the tools for the time being, you can also temporarily use repair glue or filling paste instead. Of course, this is obviously not a permanent solution, this method is usually only able to temporarily repair the surface defects, and not for long-term use. For a complete repair, you need to follow the step-by-step process carefully. If you are not careful enough and try to fix it yourself, the performance of your board will be drastically reduced after the repair. A ski with poor performance, it is better to hang it on the wall as a wall tile, both practical and environmentally friendly!

Waxing your skis

It’s important to keep your board shiny like a mirror, not only does it look good, but it also extends the life of the board and improves performance, all at the same time. So what do we have to pay attention to when waxing?

Tools needed.

• Hot wax
• Iron
• Plastic scraper
• Brush
• Snowboard stand (optional, preferably with, or use other items that will allow your board to hang)

Steps of waxing.

1. Preparation: First of all, clean the board and remove all dust and dirt. You can use a damp cloth or a cleaner to clean the board. If you are using a cleaner, make sure to dry it completely as wax should not be mixed with water.
2. Heat the hot wax: Place the hot wax on the iron and wait for it to melt. The temperature should not be too high, otherwise it will burn the wax and may damage the surface of the board. You need to know the temperature instructions of the wax block for this.
3. Apply the wax to the board: Use the iron to apply the wax evenly to the board. You need to apply the wax as quickly as possible before it hardens. If you need to apply multiple layers of wax to the board, each layer should cool and harden completely before applying the next layer.
4. Scrape off the excess wax: After the wax has cooled and hardened, use a plastic scraper to scrape off the excess wax. This will prevent excessive friction when skidding.
5. Scrub with a brush: Finally, use a brush to gently scrub the surface of the board to remove any remaining wax and then wipe the bottom of the board with a paper towel to make it as smooth as new and to improve the smoothness and speed of the surface.

It is important to make sure that it is completely clean / completely dry / at the right temperature / evenly applied / lightly scraped / lightly brushed / naturally cooled.

Final thoughts

Maintenance is a long-term process and regular care of your skis will ensure that they perform and are comfortable for you to have the best skiing experience possible. Maintenance will also give you a deeper understanding of the sport of skiing, and not only that, it will add a skill that is essential to becoming an experienced skier in the future.

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