How to Make Eco Friendly and Regular Handplane Wax

Making Wax

Firstly, I would like to start by saying "YES" you can wax your handboard! In fact, that was kind of what we had in mind all along for grip on our boards. It is good to keep your board waxed, or as I am sure you have found out, it can get quite slippery when there is no grip. Try our Kung-Fu Grip.

Waxing a handboard has, to me, something methodical and somewhat relaxing about it. I love taking the old wax off my board and replacing it. So we thought we would show you how to make your own wax., which is an equally awesome undertaking.  The process is the same as making wax for your surfboard, but we are a handboard company, so that is what we make it for.  It is a fun process!  So get a beer, set some time aside and get down to it. 

Top Tip

Make sure you have everything before you start. If you are, like me, and a bull in china shop, you will come unstuck and have hard wax everywhere.  Just a warning!

Regular Surf Wax Ingredients 

1. Paraffin Wax Pellets:Can be bought online or at local hobby store and specialty health stores.
2. Calcium Carbonate or Microcrystaline Wax: Sounds bad, but Calcium Carbonate is a common substance found in rock over the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls, and eggshells.  It can be purchased at a Vitamin store like GNC, or also online.
3. Petroleum Jelly: Can be purchsed at a Walgreens or drug store in the form of Vaseline, or online.

Eco-friendly Organic Surf Wax Ingredients

1. Beeswax :Can be bought online or at local hobby store and specialty health stores.
2. Coconut Oil: Trader Joe’s has the cheapest I have come across.
3. Tree Resin: Can be found in your local tree.  Pine is good.

Advised / Optional ingredients for Both Waxes

1. Rubber gloves
2. Scent  (Most scents can be bought at a chemist.)
3. Dye (food coloring will do) 
4. One large pot (don't use your mothers best pot) 
5. Smaller container (to place ingredients into)
6. Old Newspaper (to put down as protection)
7. Molds : Old paper coffee cups are perfect as you can tear them up after 

Our Preference 

We like to keep it simple and eco-friendly and use beeswax, coconut oil, and tree resin.

Most of the ingredients you will need are easy to find in large shops that sell home, bath, or decorating stuff. For the molds and newspaper, check your local coffee shop, or drink coffee and keep the cups. Beeswax should be pretty cheap, while coconut oil can be expensive However, Trader Joe's sells a relatively cheap version.  Whole Foods sells some too if you want to spend your "whole paycheck.” Buying in quantity will reduce your overall cost. Tree resin is harder to buy, but if you're in a jam, you can always cut into a tree to extract some.  Make sure you own the tree.  Your neighbor will be pissed if you start tapping his beloved pine!

Once you have all your ingredients at hand, you are ready to start. It's easy, just pay attention and don't skip any steps.  

Decide on Cold Water or Warm Water Wax

Decide if you want to make warm water wax or cold water wax.  The process is fairly similar, but you will have to make separate batches for both. If you use cold water wax in warm water, it will flake off and vice versa.

Courtesy of Surf Sufficient: The best way to melt down wax is to boil in water.

Regular Surf Wax 

Wax Ingredient Ratios  

60 to 70 %  Paraffin 15 to 20 %  Microcrystalline 5 to 10 %    Petroleum Jelly A dash of dye and scent. 

These ratios are used to take into account if you are making warm water or cold water wax. 

Colder water: Increase the amount of petroleum and reduce the amount of wax.  Petroleum makes the wax softer. 

Warm Water: Reduce the amount of petroleum and increase the wax. The wax will keep the wax from melting in warmer water.

1. Place all ingredients into a pot. Top Tip:  We suggest for both regular and eco-friendly wax that you place a large pot of water on the stove and bring to boil, then place all the ingredients into a separate smaller pot or receptacle and place that container into the water.  Check out the example to the side.  Depending on the quantity you are making, we suggest an old food can, cleaned of course. Baked beans don't mix well with wax. Why us a food can? The ingredients will melt slower and more evenly and have less to no chance of burning. 
2. Stir continuously. Make sure the ingredients don’t burn or overcook by keeping a very close eye on them. Continuously stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon once all of the ingredients are completely melted. Pour the melted wax into the pre-prepared mold.
3. Leave the wax to dry for about 3-4 hours or more.  Once the bars are hard, they are ready to use.

Eco-friendly Wax

Again, decide on warm or cold water wax, depending on your region.

Wax Ingredient Ratios "Warm Water"

·       2.25 grams of Bee's Wax

·       750 ml of Coconut Oil 

Wax Ingredient Ratios "Cold Water"

• 3 Parts bee's wax 
• 1 Part Coconut Oil
• 1 part Tree Resin

Warm Water:  All you need is Bee's Wax  and Coconut Oil.  The scents from these will already smell awesome, so no need for extra smell.  You can put in color, too. 

1. Like the regular wax, place all of the ingredients into the bowl.  Pre-heat the water and place the container with the wax ingredients into the water. 
2. Stir, stir and stir some more!  When it melts down to a liquid, remove it from the burner.
3. Like the regular wax, pour it into the molds you have prepared and leave the wax to dry for about 3-4 hours or more.  It’s ready to use once they are hard.

In Finishing

It can be a lot more time consuming and expensive than your average bar of wax bought over the counter at your local surf store.  However, it's a fun process with friends or by yourself, and you get to be a lot more conscious of the products you use.  If you are using the eco method, your wax is completely 100% natural and eco-friendly.  What a bonus!!!! Now, go make some. If you don’t want to go to all the trouble, you could just place Kung-Fu grip on it. 

Surf, Surf, Surf till’ you die.