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Hot Press
to repair small but deep scrapes in the
base of your snowboard.
Before you try this trick make
sure you are used to working
with P-Tex.
Definition
- You use the hot press to fill
small deep scratches on your board. P-Tex (Polyethylene) candles
are used for the Hot Press instead of a more specialized material
that is used in most snowboard shops for deep gouges.
This is very similar to using
P-Tex to fix a scratch and both techniques are used to repair
an abused board.
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Clean the old wax off.
Base Cleaner Citric Spray
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Prep -
Just like when you are using P-Tex you need to make
sure you have your board's base clean. Use a metal scraper
to clean off all the old wax around the wound. A bit
of degreaser also helps.
The cleaner
the area the better the P-tex will hold to the base.
Use a sharp razor blade to cut out any chunks.
Keep your eyes
open for air bubbles (areas on your base, near the scrape,
where there is a slight bulge our) or areas that over
hung or flop over into the scratch.
You want to make
a smooth valley out of the scratch with a sharp razor
blade. Cut away the rough areas but don't make the gouge
bigger then you need to. Be very careful with the razor
blade on your base, you don't want to create extra work
for yourself. |
Tools -
Once again, just like the P-Tex
move you just learned, you are going to need a p-tex candle,
a metal scraper, and something (like a blow torch) to light
the candle. However, you are also going to need a Rasp (like
they use for wood work) to scrap the excess P-Tex off. You
can get one down at Home Depot if you can't find one in your
dad's tools.
If you don't have a torch available you can use a just a household
candle. BIC lighters are not recommended because they are
not suppose to be lit for over 30 seconds. You also want to
be in a well ventilated area, these fumes will get to you.
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the P-Tex candle. The fine art of a good P-tex and
Hot Press is not having carbon in it.
Carbon
is the little black flakes you get in the melted part
of the P-Tex
Again,
you can use your metal scraper and back roll the P-tex
candle on it to eliminate the black carbon in the ball
of melted P-Tex. When you have a clear ball you are
set. Don't let the flame on the P-Tex candle get big
and yellow or you will end up with more carbon and you
will have to start over to get the carbon out.
When the ball
is burning blue you are doing well. It is easiest to
keep the ball blue by keeping it very close to the surface
you are working with (the scraper or the base of the
board.) It takes some time but the ball will slowly
drip. |
L:ight the Candle
Backroll off the carbon
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Now things get a little different
from the P-Tex.
Once you get a big glob of
melted P-Tex it is time for the hot press. Check again real
quick to make sure you don't have any black carbon specs.
Here is the fun part.
Take your glob with one hand and your metal scraper with the
other. Quickly shove the whole liquid hot glob into your small,
deep gouge on the board. Quickly put your metal scraper on
top and apply a lot of pressure directly on top of the glob
that is now in the gouge.
WARNING,
if there is a lot of P-Tex it may ooze out of the sides of
your metal scraper so watch yourself. A P-Tex burn hurts
a lot worse then you might think.
While everything is
relatively hot, twist the candle of P-Tex so that it separates
from the glob that is now attaching itself to your base.
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You will need to hold
the scraper steady with a fair amount of pressure until you
feel everything start to cool down. Once everything has cooled
down slowly bend the scraper so that it pulls away from the
glob and your base. Do this slowly as to not disturb the P-Tex
that is now in your snowboard.
Let the P-Tex dry for
a while. A while is a relative term of course but make sure
it is the same temperature as your base before you continue
with the next step.
Take your Rasp now
and gently start rasping down the miniature mountain of P-Tex
that was left on your base. Don't use much pressure because
you don't want to pull the whole chunk out.
After you get the P-Tex
level with the rest of your base finish making it smooth with
your metal scraper.
Usually if you did
this correctly the P-Tex will stay at least a season, however
if your gash was too big/wide/deep to begin with and you just
wanted to avoid going to your local shop and paying to get
a real fix then you might only get a ride or two, maybe even
a day out of it.
Basically it boils
down to if you really gouged your board up you had better
pay to have it fixed.
- Wright Hollingsworth
| Related Terms |
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| P-Tex |
Metal scraper |
| Degreaser |
Core Shot |
| Wax |
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Did
we miss something? Do you have any suggestions for others? |
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Gear
Stuff to keep you riding day in and dayout.
Snowboard
Helmets
Snowboard Hip
Pads
Goggles
& Lens
Learning Aids
These books and vids can also help you master
all sorts of niftytricks.
Todd
Richards' Trick Tips, Vol. 1: Park and Pipe Basics
Todd
Richards' Trick Tips, Vol. 2: Park and Pipe, The Next Level
Learn To Snowboard DVD - Boarding Skool
The Illustrated Guide To Snowboarding
Snowboarding
Skills: The Back-To-Basics Essentials for All Levels
Snowboarder's
Start-Up: A Beginner's Guide to Snowboarding
(Sick)
: A Cultural History of Snowboarding
Blower
: Snowboarding Inside Out
Lost
in Transition
Learn the lingo
Learn what all those things they are saying
really mean
Runway -the path before a jump
Edge -metal edges that run along either side of your snowboard
Battleship -rail that angles up then flattens out then angles down again
Jib -to snowboard on obstacles that are not regularly intended for riding on
Lip -the very last part you will hit
I-Beam -a strip of material that is put into the core of a snowboard
Bip -the region on your body between your butt and either of your hips
Dump -amount of fresh snow that has or will fall
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