To wax a skimboard, clean off any old wax, rub a hard base coat over the deck in small circles until bumps form, then add a wax rated for your water temperature on top. Re-coat the top layer before each session. The sources below agree on that order and differ on the details, which this page points out.
WaterSportHQ editors have not waxed boards for this page. Every step is attributed to a page the editors read, and anything else is labeled “Editors’ rule of thumb.”
Why wax a skimboard
Wax gives your feet something to grip on a wet deck. Zap Skimboards says on its FAQ that “most skimboarders prefer to use a combination of wax and traction pads to help stay on their skimboard.” Wax comes in bar form and “is applied by rubbing the bar on the top/deck of the board.” Zap lists a wax comb as the tool “to remove wax from the deck of your board.”
Pick a wax for the water temperature
Wax is sold in grades for different water temperatures. Wikipedia’s surfboard wax article says wax “used in water colder than its rating will become hard and not provide the stickiness needed to stay on the board” and wax “used in water warmer than its rating may melt.” Zap’s FAQ says wax “is made for different temperature water.” Skimboarder UK, a UK shop, says to use cold-to-cool grades for UK waters because tropical wax grips poorly and wears off quickly there.
Brands set their own ranges, so read the package. For example, the evo listing for Sticky Bumps Cool Wax gives the cool grade as 58 to 68 F (14 to 19 C), but the same wording says “below 58°F - 68°F,” which reads oddly. Editors’ rule of thumb: when your water sits near the edge of two grades, check the maker’s chart before you buy.
How to wax a skimboard, step by step
1. Remove old wax
Beachgoer, a skimboard shop, says: “If you have old wax on your board, the first thing you need to do is clean it off.” Skimboarder UK says to “remove old wax with a Wax Comb,” and adds that warming the board in the sun for about 20 minutes, or using a hairdryer or heat gun, loosens it first. Wikipedia says a scraper removes surfboard wax “in large chunks” and a soft cloth takes the residue. Zap makes no mention of heat.
Editors’ rule of thumb: use a plastic comb or scraper, not a metal blade, so you do not gouge the deck.
2. Apply the base coat
The base coat is a harder wax that builds a bump pattern the other layers cling to. The evo listing for Sticky Bumps Basecoat gives the maker’s directions: “Start with a clean deck and apply with light pressure in a circular motion to build a tight bump base pattern.” It calls the wax “Sticky Bumps’ Hardest Wax” that “provides the foundation for any temperature-specific waxes to cling on to.”
Pacific Surf, a San Diego surf school, says the base coat “should always be applied in the shade.” Beachgoer says to apply the wax “in small circles till it really starts to come off the bar and onto the top of the board.” Skimboarder UK says to cover the whole board in small circles and add some pressure so the wax sticks.
The sources differ on pressure: Sticky Bumps says light, while Skimboarder UK says to add some pressure. Zap says “medium pressure.” Try medium pressure and watch for bumps to form.
3. Add lines across the deck
Skimboarder UK says that after the base coat you make larger strokes from rail to rail, then from nose to tail, to form lines. Zap describes rubbing the bar “in a circular motion, from nose to tail, and rail to rail.” Pacific Surf, writing about surfboards, says to run the comb “over the wax in diagonal lines, creating a crosshatch.” Treat the exact pattern as a matter of taste. The sources do not agree on one.
4. Add the temperature wax
Pacific Surf says: “After the basecoat has been applied you are ready to apply the temperature specific wax,” and “rub the temperature wax across the entire area of the basecoat.” Beachgoer says to rub the temperature wax in circles “to have small bumps of wax throughout the board.”
5. Re-coat before each session
Beachgoer says: “Once you get off your board, reapply the top coat before you hit the water again.” Re-wax fully when the old wax is worn or dirty.
Wax and traction pads
Zap says most skimboarders use both. Skimboarder UK says boards with an EVA foam top can still benefit from extra grip and recommends soft board wax on them. Editors’ rule of thumb: check your board maker’s care page before waxing a foam deck, because the sources here are shops and not the board makers.
Where the sources fall short
- Pacific Surf and Wikipedia write about surfboards. The wax steps are the same type of product, but neither is a skimboard source.
- Sticky Bumps ranges come from one retailer listing and are not a full chart.
- Surfer Today, Brainbound and East Coast Skimboards returned access errors (403) and were not used.
- No source here says how long a coat lasts. Expect to re-coat often.