Using P-Tex

From Niftytricks

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Using P-Tex to repair small to medium size scrapes in the base of your snowboard.

Definition - You use P-Tex (Polyethylene candles) to fill in minor to medium scratches in the base of your board. This allows you to once again achieve maximum speed and increases the life of your board.

use a scrapper to clean off the old wax Clean the old wax off.

a citric base cleaner can also help Base Cleaner Citric Spray

Prep - 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 around the scratch. You want to make a smooth valley in your base where the scratch is.

Look for air bubbles (outward bulges near the scratch) or areas that the base material over hangs or flops over the scratch.

Be very careful with the razor blade on your base, you don't want to create extra work for yourself.

Tools - You are going to need a P-Tex candle, a metal scraper, and something (like a blow torch) to light the candle. 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.

Light the candle. The fine art of a good P-tex is not having carbon in it.

Carbon is the little black flakes that you get in your melted P-Tex. They cause a bad bond are not good when you are repairing your base.

You can use your metal scraper and back roll the P-tex candle on it to eliminate the black carbon in the ball of it. When you have a clear ball you are set. Don't let the flame get big and yellow or you will end up with more carbon in the ball. If this happens you will have to start over to get the carbon out of the P-Tex before you start.

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.

light the p-tex candle with something besides a BIC lighter

Backrolling the p-tex eliminates the carbon build up

carefully drip the p-tex to the side of the scratch

The trick here is to drip the P-Tex to the side of the valley you created with your razor blade. This will allow the drips to bridge to the far side. This will also allow the liquid P-Tex to puddle to the highest point over the middle of the scratch. If you let it roll over on both sides then the P-Tex won’t fill the valley the first time and you will have to go back over the scratch a second time.

If you have a scratch that goes down to the core (like you can see the graphic on your board scratched or see wood on the bottom) then you need to have a professional at a local shop take care of it. Most Shop Techs use a specialized tool and supplies. Some shops will base their reputation on their work so listen around and see who has the best guys fixing boards.

After dripping the P-Tex, let it cool to the touch. Take your metal scraper again and using either forward or backward strokes to scrape the excess P-Tex off. If one direction is giving you a washboarding effect try scraping the other way. You want it to be as smooth as possible since the P-Tex will not retain wax. scrape off the excess p-tex

After scrapping your base go back over with your finger and see if there are any places that it didn't fill.

Repeat this procedure as many times as possible until all the holes in your base are filled and your base is as smooth as a babies bottom.

Note on black bases - Carbon is bad. Even if you have a black base and can’t see it, the carbon doesn’t help the bond of the P-Tex with the base. If you have a clear, non-carbon, drip of P-Tex then it will have a better bond.

- Wright Hollingsworth