Making Surfboard Wax

With surf wax being so cheap we don't know why anyone would like to make it themselves, but it is a question that has been asked over again. We've got two different recipes for you to try out. Be careful with this tutorial as it can get a little messy.

Basic Surf Wax

Here are the ingredients:

Paraffin wax

Microcrystalline wax

Petroleum jelly

Adhesive (Vistanex)

Small amounts of scent and dye if you want a nice look / smell

Take all the ingredients and melt them down together at around 100 degrees Farenheit in the following proportions.

60 to 70 percent paraffin

15 to 20 percent microcrystalline

5 to 10 percent petroleum jelly

5 to 10 percent adhesive

A dash of dye and scent

The reason that there is a range of percentages above is so that you can vary the mixtures to suit the water temperature in your region and the stickiness of the wax.

To adjust for temperature:

Warmer water temperatures: Increase the amount of wax and decrease the amount of petroleum.

Colder water temperature: Increase the amount of petroleum and decrease the amount of wax.

The microcrystalline wax and Vistanex give it the "stickiness."

So that's the first method for making your own surf wax. Let's now have a look at the organic wax.

Alternatively - buy some!





Organic Surf Wax

Here are the ingredients:

Beeswax

Coconut oil

Tree resin (cool water wax only)

For Sticky Warm Water Surf Wax:

You need only two ingredients — beeswax and coconut oil. That's it. (Talk about simple) With this recipe you don't have to worry about the scent as it will smell really nice already.

All you do is mix 2,250 g of beeswax with 750 ml of coconut oil. First melt the wax, then warm the oil and stir into the wax. Stir well, stir some more, and then continue stirring. (You get the idea!) Pour into paper cups and let it set.

There is a temptation to use other vegetable oils. Don't bother. Coconut is the one.

How about that for an easy-peasy method? Child's play! (Hence the use of "easey-peasey" on a surfing site)

For Sticky Cool Water Surf Wax:

The mixture now is three parts beeswax, one part coconut oil, and one part tree resin. Make it in the same way, adding the beeswax, coconut oil, and tree resin together and stirring well.

(Tree resin can be bought in the form of granulated incense (as used by the Catholic Church) but can work out to be quite expensive. It can also be taken at the source, straight from the tree.)

So that's it, hope you have found these recipes helpful. Don't come crying to us if you cover your kitchen in huge wax blobs!

Thanks to Jonny and Roy over on the forum for these "How to Make Surf Wax" guides.

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