Snowboard Tuning isn't really a kite mod per say. It does however help with the kite. On snow a proper tune and hot wax is necessary. Rocks are a pain to fix. Edges get beat to a pulp. and the overall surface of the board looks more like an old chopping block. P-Tex fixes are necessary for deep cuts. Base grinds are the best. Waxing and scraping and buffing is amazing for your board. It conditions the plastic and allows for less resistance. Ok lots of technical stuff but have you given your board attention lately? Do you have white heel sides? Do you fly on hard snow, ice, pre-season/low base snow, or roads (yeah i know i've traveled across pavement at least once)

then its time for a tune. the resistance of the kite is one thing but in the deep pow forward momentum is important to a fun day. See your local board tuner or try to do it yourself a good tune will make you glide instead of drag.

Word!

Can anyone recommend an easy rub on wax that works!
It seems even a pro tune job wears off after about one session, and then you are dragging ass again!
At Island Park this weekend, if I had some more glide, i think I would have stayed on top a lil better!

If you are looking to ride several times between tunes, don't take off as much wax in finishing stage. If you have more wax on the board then it won't wear so fast. The issue with this is it will lead to a build up at binding locations. To fix just scrape your board of the excess build up before each time out. I would say that keeping your board tuned, will lead to it lasting much longer, riding way better, and in the end the cost of tunes pays off. I tune my board before every session and I let the wax soak in good before scraping. This keeps the base material pliable and will help prevent gouges in the base. Also edges are key with kiting. Keep them good and sharp and you will be amazed at how much easier it is to ride, especially on ice.

I've tried several of the OTC rub on waxes they are ok for day to day stuff but nothing beats an iron and hot wax. The irons are very cheap you could even get one prob at walmart. I think they even have cordless ones at this point. I think with the rub or the hot you still need to scrape the board so a scraper is a must.

I still believe your boards all your boards need to be looked at. I gotta tune now that i know what to look for every session. I can almost feel it the second something alters my board while kiting. the stickyness is the ultimate key indicator for getting some wax on that thing. there are cold waxes and warm waxes . don't be confused both will still take an iron to apply. We are all weather gods as kiters so we gotta see the forecasted temps. Before hitting that spot make sure the grooves have been p-texed, the scratches sanded and the base waxed. I've been doing mixtrues of the two and the board seems to respond nicely to the conditions of course if you hit something or a base snow that that has ice chunks mixed in can still cause imperfections. this is a great thread.

I saw the board tuning thread and figured hey, I’m a noob at kiting, but I’ve been working in shops tuning/repairing skis & boards for over 20 yrs, here’s something I can actually help folks w/! And I’m bored at work and can’t stop thinking kiting so I’ll kill some time and write a long thread. You’ve been warned; this message will wander and ramble…

While I’ve only been kiting for a very short time I can see where a good base is key and decent edges always help. For me when the surface is too icy I don’t bother to go out. I’m not super concerned w/ edges b/c as long as there are a couple inches of snow on the lake it’s pretty easy to maneuver and not need great edges. But a well waxed base is key to smooth sailing.

You need to tune your board when:
- You’re bored and feel like it
- Your edges and/or base have nicks, chunks, gouges, rust etc.
- Your base is “dry”. It’s easy to spot a “dry” base b/c it will appear hazy, fuzzy, and dull and not have sheen to it. It’s super easy to tell on black bases or bases w/ graphics as the color appears dull or faded.
- How often you should tune depends on what you hit & what the conditions are like.

What I will describe is a BASIC, cheap tune anyone can do. If you have severe edge or base damage bring it to an experience shop for repairs.

A basic tune can be done on the cheap with tools and supplies available at just about any hardware store. There is absolutely no need for base grinds and expensive temp specific wax all the time. You may scoff some things I mention here, but don’t knock it till you try it. Try it and you’ll appreciate the $$$ saved and how well your board performs.

POOR MAN’S TUNING

For a basic (cheap man’s) home tune you’ll need the following:
- A suitable work surface. This could be a table, saw horses, 2 chairs, work bench or whatever. Whatever holds the board steady will work, get creative. No need to buy those $50-$80 board vices if you don’t want to. Use your noodle. If you want an idea for $10 board vice let me know.
- If you’re in the house use a drop cloth or something. You will make a mess. A decent sized mess. A $2 shower curtain from Wal-Mart works great if you don’t have a drop cloth.
- From your LHS (local hardware store) you can get the following:
o An 8-10”, medium grain, single or double cut file. Files have grain ratings as to how much material they take off. As you can guess there’s course, medium and fine. Single or double cut just describes the “grooves” on the file. Single cut files have grooves going in 1 direction and doubles go in both directions. You’re likely to find mostly single cut files at your LHS.
o A small ~ 6” medium file. Smaller files are handy for doing the sides of your edges.
o A whetstone or sharpening stone.
o A small wire brush
o Not required but will probably want some work gloves
o A small piece of plexi-glass. Something about 3-4” x 6” works well and the LHS usually has scraps about that big they’ll give you for free. Or something else to use as a scraper. As long as it’s stiff and not metal you’ll do fine.
o A small section of plastic poly tubing. It’s off-white / hazy in color, not super stiff, but not flexible. A small diameter like 3/8” and about a foot long will work. Not required, but can be used for base repairs.
o Not sure about your LHS, but mine also had the following. If your LHS doesn’t have them check Wal-Mart or the grocery store
 Small iron. Preferably NOT Teflon coated but not a big deal. Mine was $6! at Ace Hardware
 Paraffin or canning wax
 Those green Scoth-brite pads. They look like green, plastic steel wool pads almost.
- You’ll probably also want a rag or 2, a cleaner like Windex, a couple of beers and some tunes.

Before you tune your board bring it inside for a while. If the board is at room temp it will absorb the wax a lot better.

Start by giving your board/base/edges a quick cleaning. This can be with water or something like Windex. A quick rub down is all that’s needed. If your base is really dirty/grungy then skip ahead to the waxing section and read the last part. Then come back up here.

Once the board is quick cleaned look it over. Check the base for gouges, the edges for deep chunks, basically look it over and see what you’re up against.

If you base has some gouges that aren’t too deep they can be repaired w/ the tubing you bought at the hardware store. If you’re anal about appearances you will NOT want to do this. The tubing will most likely look black and not match your base. If you just want to fix the hole and don’t care what it looks like, read on.

The poly tubing you picked up is basically the same thing as P-Tex. Just in a different form, readily available and a lot cheaper.

Clean the edges of the gouge w/ a sharp blade. Smooth things out as best you can. Then light your tubing on fire. Let it drip into the gouge and overfill the hole slightly. Be very careful as the tubing gets stringy when it’s burning/dripping and sticks to you when it hits you. And it hurts like a %$^&*^ when you can’t get it off. Let the patch cool completely.

Then using your razor blade or plastic scraper carefully shave the patch down until it matches the height of the base material. If you don’t let it cool completely it will likely pop out of the hole when you start scraping it. Take your time and take a little off at a time.

If your edges have a large chunk missing or are pulled out take them to the shop for repair. If they are chunked up but not popping out you’ll just have to do the best you can and live w/ it.

Once you’ve done your base repairs and made sure your edges aren’t “blowed out”, you can start filing. Filing is easy, but boring and tedious. There are also all type of edges you can put on your board depending on what type of bevel you want. IMHO for most kitters a 1° or 2° bevel would work nicely. If you don’t bevel the edge at all it can make the transition on to your edge “hard” for lack of a better word. Where w/ a slight bevel you’ll be able to roll up on to your edge more smoothly.

One or two wraps of masking or duct tape around the end of your file will work nicely to get this angle. Wrap the tape near the end of your large file. Not at the very end, but probably near the point where the pointy, handle end of the file starts. This wrap of tape will ride against the base of your board.

Start w/ the base edge. Place your file on the base w/ your wrapped tape riding on the base. Position the file so it is about 45° to the base edge and moving tip to tail run the file down the base. ALWAYS move tip to tail. Try to use long smooth strokes. The amount of pressure needed will vary on how smunched up your edges are and how bad the gouges are. More pressure = more material ground away. Vary the pressure to your liking. You can also vary the amount of “grinding” by adjusting the angle of attack of your file. After a couple passes with the file this will all make sense to you.

When filing it is important to keep the edges and base clear of your shavings. That is what the rag and gloves are for. Brush the shavings off the edges and base to keep them from marking things up and getting embedded in your base. And keep your file clean w/ the small wire brush you bought. Depending on how much material you remove and how dirty/rusty your edges are will dictate how often you have to clear the edges/base and file grooves of filings. You WILL get filings in your fingers, that’s why I said you may want gloves on.

Don’t worry about the tip and tail. You only want the edge sharp on the base portion of the edge. Don’t sharpen up onto the tip and tail or your board will get very “grabby” in turns. You can file the tip and tail a bit to remove any rust or big burrs.

When are you done? You’re good to go when your edge is smooth and shinny. You won’t get a spotless finish w/ this method but it should get pretty darn good. When it’s smooth and shiny give it the finger nail test. Lightly drag your fingernail across the edge, NOT LENGTHWISE, across the edge. Your nail should get some scrapings coming off of it.

Now do the side edges. This is when a vice is handy to hold the board up for you. In a pinch though I’ve sat on the floor w/ my board on edge between my legs. Not pretty, but it worked.

You’ve got a small bevel on your base edge from the tape wrap you did, but obviously you can’t do that on the edge. So you have to eyeball it as best you can. It’s perfectly fine to lay the file on the edge flat and go. You’ll be able to tell by looking at the edge after a pass. You’ll see where you’ve removed material and not. Adjust the angle you’re holding the file accordingly. It takes a little practice (beer helps), but you’ll get the hang of it.

Everything else is the same as you did w/ the base edge. Adjust your pressure and file angle to adjust how much you take off, ALWAYS move tip to tail, don’t do the tip or tail aggressively, use long smooth strokes and when it’s shiny and smooth give it the finger nail test. Remember to keep your file clean w/ the brush and keep the shavings out of your way and off the base. You’ll feel the filings mucking things up under the file if you don’t.

The next step is not required, it depends on how anal you want to get. But when you’re done filing you can dunk your FINE grit whetstone in water and gently rub it down your edges. This will smooth them out, remove little burrs and shine them up. The smoother things are, the better you go.

Once you’re done the above steps, take your whetstone to the edges on your tip and tail and grind them down a bit in case you got to happy w/ the file. From just past where the edge starts to curve up to the tip or tail, grind the stone across (perpendicular) the edge. Won’t that dull it!? You exclaim. Yes, that’s the idea. You do not want sharp edges on your tips and tails.

Once you’re done filing and stoning your edges it’s time to get messy. Bust out the iron and wax. Heat your iron up to probably med to med-high temperature. Just hot enough to melt the wax easily. If you get too hot you’ll smoke yourself out.

It’s easiest to hold the iron w/ the pointed end down facing the board. Then just hold your block of paraffin / canning wax against the iron and let it drip on to the board. Run the drips up and down the length of the board putting some good sized puddles of wax on the board.

Now place the iron right on the board and smear the wax around just like you’re ironing a shirt. I realize ironing may be foreign to some  so just move the iron around spreading the wax out all over the board. Rub it in pretty good, but don’t let the iron sit in one place for long. Smear the wax all over the entire base. Don’t worry about getting it smooth or anything like that, just be sure to cover the entire base w/ a good coat of wax. Now stow your iron and let the board cool completely. This lets the wax absorb or soak into the base and re-hydrate it if you will. It’s important to let it sit until cool. Go get a beer and take a break.
Once your board and wax are completely cooled, it’s time to get real messy. Get out your little plexi scrapper you picked up and again, always tip to tail, scrape the board down. A fair amount of pressure can be used, just try to keep it straight and level. Again, using more, lighter strokes is better than fewer, harder passes. This is the part I don’t care for. You’re going to get wax shavings everywhere and they stick. Hence the drop cloth.

After a couple passes you’ll start to see a nice smooth base. You’ll also notice how the base not longer looks dried out or dull. That means speed. But you’re not done yet. After you scrap and scrape and get the majority of the wax off get your little Scotch-Brite pad out. Move tip to tail again and using light to medium pressure run the pad down the base. This will help sinter the base and remove more excess wax. Sinters are the little lines and channels you have on new base. These are important b/c this is where water forms and travels and it’s the water that makes you glide like the dickens. It’s the same theory as hockey skates. Some folks use nice brass brushes or stiff nylon brushes to do this, but the pads work well enough.

The paraffin, or canning wax, works very well and it’s cheap. Obviously feel free to use temperature specific wax if you want to, the steps are the same. But for average temps, say 10°-40°F I’ll bet you won’t notice a difference. The important fact is you have to keep the base from drying out. And having sinters helps a lot too.

Since the paraffin is cheap it can also be used to clean your board. What, clean my board w/ wax? Yup. If your base is pretty dirty and snarly, the very first step you can do before anything is to wax it. As you scrape this first coat off you will literally pull the crud off and out of your base. Scrape it real good and then clean w/ Windex or something like way back at the beginning of this terrible long and over wordy posting.

Sorry this got so long. I got carried away. Hope it helps someone though. I have not checked this for errors or inconsistencies so please let me know if you can add to it or make corrections or have questions.
j

Very nice tutorial on waxing Strange! I don't think you put enough emphasis on the beer though... Alcohol has proven benefits on one's ability to actually sit down and work on your board(s).

Also, I would point out the dangers in holding the iron in one spot for too long. Do not try to force the wax to melt into the ski. Keep your iron moving. It doesn't have to be smooth, it just has to cover the entire base. Burning your bases is a real danger for an inexperienced tuner and can lead to problems like delamination. You can feel the top of your ski (the side you don't wax) with the back of your hand for a reference as to how hot the base/core is. The topsheet WILL get hot, but if it's feeling excessively hot (think ANY burning sensation) that's bad. If you think the TOP of your ski is hot, how hot can you expect your bases to be?

On that note, you want to keep the iron heat down, melt the wax, don't burn it. I think I use the "Polyester" setting on mine.