I take claims of “eco” and environmentally friendly products very seriously. A lab has conclusive proof that the claims from some major “green” surf waxes is total BS.
I did what Wood Ogre suggested. Got some Bee's Wax in bulk from a keeper and make my own. I'll never buy "surfwax" again. You can add your own scent from oils.
ps Six pounds of bee's wax for less than $20.00 (USA). That's a lot of wax for surfing.
Presently the latest fad are products touting that they are ‘green’ are finding it easier to compete and crowd out other products(non-green) for shelf space. Dont be part of a fad.
green tea, antioxidants, no fat, no cholosterol, no trans fats, lo calorie, soy, margarine healthier than butter, canola oil, non dairy creamer better than half/half, wonder bread(white flour was better).
Anyone remember hard candy and licorice having ‘no fat’ labels? of course they were 100% sugar.
or Tropical oils like palm oil touting ‘no cholestorol’ even though those oils cause our livers to go into overdrive with production of cholestorol.
So if you buy a green product are you saving the earth…NO!
However, when we run out of oil or the system collapses because of access to oil, these products may have some value assuming the raw materials can be delivered without oil, and the manufacturing plant and their machinery can be run without oil. In other words, dont bet on it!
Nothing changes and marketing still exploits us.
from the movie,"shooter"
ya they said:
artificial sweeteners were safe..............
wmd's were in iraq...................
and anna nicole married for love.
and yes,i still have the shovel.
herb
Is there an old thread with a procedure/recipe for making my own tropical surf wax?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hey Castrillo
I think Roy may have had a thread on here years ago about wax.
He sent me a couple of blocks of his Northern Lights surfboard wax , very sticky with a smoky scent. I think He may have brewed it over a wood fire.
I used to make my own wax back in the day but it wasn’t “green”. Parafin wax with petroleum jelly added and some scented oil and colouring dye.
Add the petroleum jelly to the brew , the more you put in the softer the wax .
Cheers
Mooneemick
Oye Castrillo, The way I remember Wood Ogre's recipe was wax , food grade diatomaceous earth and scent oils. I used diatom. earth from a pool supply as a binder not food grade with no problemas. At the local Health/Hippie store they sell all kinds of oils. I used a type of Sage that smells like the hills I grew up in. Melt in a double boiler.
btw how different is ogre’s boardwax recipe from roy’s? seems like blending melted beeswax with coconut oil at ratios that match your local break’s temperature (different ratios for cold & warm-water surfing) is all that’s called for, additional scent optional.
in any case those who think going green is just a fad probably are clueless about what it took for human civilization to reach this point, with thousands of years of history that doesn’t mention the necessity of petroleum products.
back in WW II, guerillas fighting the japs in the philippines used plain coconut oil to fuel diesel engines. coconut water was used as IV fluid.
appreciating nature and being grateful for what it offers has nothing to do with marketing. if necessity is the mother of invention, ignorance is the mother of idiocy. bet your pwet it’s true. ha !
cheers,
Howzit Otis, Being a diabetic I do a lot of reading about food and I find there are a lot of down sides to those supposedly green foods. I see labels that say no sugaradded but if you read the ingredients they use corn syrup instead and justthe other day Iread something about no fat foods and I wish I would have kept the article since no fatfoods has something else in it that is not good for you. Aloha,Kokua
howdy kokua,
have you heard about coconut sugar? said to have very low glycemic index, check this out : http://affleap.com/coconut-sugar-the-new-wonder-sugar-for-diabetics/
cheers,
Howzit surfiber, Never heard of it but will definitely look into it. Sounds like it might be made from coconut milk which is good stuff. Thanks or the heads up. Aloha,Kokua
Yup.
I also waste plenty of time posting stuff on Swaylock’s. You know, reading other people’s stories all the way through, then taking the time to log in and post comments… That kind of stuff.
I did as told, and I made a mixture of about 4 parts paraffin to 1 part petroleum jelly. Fair enough. The wax can be used for waxing my board and it feels like it will definitely work to keep me from slipping my feet from the wet deck.
Nevertheless, the resulting wax is too brittle. Instead of bending a little bit before breaking, it will break off immediately if I apply pressure to the wax pill. Just like a candle would if you tried to bend it at room temp.
Also, it is a little too “oily”. I’d like to make it “stickier” or more “rubbery”. More like pre-school clay. More like the surf wax bars I buy at the surf shop.
What can I add to the mixture of paraffin and petroleum jelly to achieve the “stickiness/rubberiness/clayishness” that I’m aiming for?
Thanks.
I think it's your base that you are starting with. Paraffin is brittle to begin with much more so in colder water. You don't have this with bee's wax. It is gummier and softer on it's own.
Honestly if you are worried about surfboard wax you might have a little too much time on your hands. Ha.
I surfed today using the wax I made.
Waves were fair at the local hotspot. The crowd was mellow, and I was dilaing into some good sets.
It’s definitely too “oily” compared to the wax I buy at surf shops. It felt a little bit like the wax melted under my foot (compared to surf shop brands). Not even SexWax “Original” feels as oily or as brittle, but it’s definitely the closest thing to my new wax that I’ve tried.
I think it’s mainly the petroleum jelly part of the mixture.
Don’t get me wrong, it sure beats surfing on the bare deck of the board.
But I’m still on the search for the magic formula for tropical surf wax. Something like Sex Wax’s “Quick Humps” or Sticky Bumps tropical wax.
Any ideas up for sharing?
Anybody else thinking about making a living the way Mr.Zogg did?
I ordered a pound of beeswax through ebay.
That experiment should be done sometime within the next 6 weeks.
Any waxy ideas are very much welcome.
Thanks.
castrillo
There were different grades of parrafin wax and the same goes for the industrial petroleum jellies.
Some are more greasy than others , I got mine from an industrial wax supplier ,
Maybe someone like this is near you http://www.unicornpetro.co.in/home.htm
Cheers
Mooneemick
I just can't get my head around patroleum jelly in a surf wax ! Whats it supposed to do ? Patroleum just slippery, isn't it just going to make your board slippery?
It's definitely too "oily" compared to the wax I buy at surf shops.
Melting point of parrafin is much less than bees wax.!when the sun melts the parrafin isn't that just going to leave the patroleum jelly on the board. Bees wax on the other hand when mixed with turpintine will not seperate when melted. and the flex,mushyness, softness,hardness what ever you want to call it is regulated by how much turpintine you use and the diatomaceious earth is the binder that keeps it form melting off the board.!
howdy ogre,
some say turpentine can be a fire hazard and its fumes, toxic. mind sharing your turpentine handling techniques when making board wax?
cheers,