How to: store your snowboard for the summer
The snowboard season in South East Michigan has come to an end. With today being the first official day of spring, there is no better time to get your board ready for it's long slumber.
Like most snowboarders, I used to just throw my snowboard in the garage and worry about it next year. However, that does some damage to your base and with about 10 minutes of minimal effort, you'll be in better shape to shred next year. So why not?
What you'll need:- Rubbing Alcohol or citrus based cleaner
- fibertex pad and/or a rag
- snowboard wax (pretty much anything will do)
If you did any spring slush riding, chances are your base is covered in speed robbing goop. That black gunk is oil from snow cats, lifts, and snow making equipment. You need to scrub that off and try to get it out of the pores of the base. I prefer to use rubbing alcohol. However, if its really terribly gummed up a xylene or tourlene based solvent (like goof off) will make for a deeper and better clean.
Step 1: Remove the oil
pour a liberal amount of your solvent on the base and use a fibertex pad or a rag to scrub the impurities off of your base. You'll never get all the discoloration, but spend a few minutes doing your best to rub it out. when your satisfied, wipe the base down with a dry rag.
Step 2: WAX
This is about to be the easiest wax job you've ever done. just drip and spread. no scraping. The excess wax will help protect the base during storage and provide a moisture tight barrier.
Step 3: Store it
This goes without saying, but store your snowboard somewhere it won't get damaged. I prefer to store it base up or on it's side.
It's that simple. When your ready to ride again, scrape the storage wax and rewax with the correct temp wax for your snow conditions.
If you left your board in a moist environment, you'll probably want to tune up your edges again to remove rust.