Last Updated on November 29, 2023 by Matt Hapgood

If you have just bought yourself a shiny new soft top surfboard or you are thinking of getting into surfing you will need to know how to wax a foam surfboard.

Thankfully, I have done all of the hard work for you and in this comprehensive guide, you will learn everything you need to know about surf wax and how to apply it to your foamie surfboard.

Lets rip in!

TL;DR (Too long didn’t read)

Waxing A Foam Surfboard

Want to never fall off your soft top again?

This guide will cover everything you need to know on how to stop falling – just kidding, while I can’t make you into Kelly Slater or Steph Gilmore, knowing how to wax your board will at least give you a shot!

Do you put wax on a foam surfboard?

In short: YES

Soft top surfboards are not as slippery as fiberglass boards without wax.

Having said that, I would 100% recommend putting at least a thin layer of wax onto your soft top surfboard.

How do you wax a soft board for the first time?

When you unwrap a brand new board from the polythene packaging, there is normally a shiny film on top of the surfboard. This is SUPER slippery, so the first thing you need to do is to wash this off – you need the wax stick to your foam board.

I recommend using warm soapy water and a damp cloth to clean this weird manufacturing residue from the board first.

Once the board is clean and dry you can start to apply some surf wax. Try to avoid doing this in full sun as the wax might become a little too soft and won’t stick to the board very well.

Get waxing!

Once the board is clean you can start applying some wax.

A quick note: Be sure to use wax that is appropriate for the temperature of the water you are going to be surfing in.

The best way to wax a soft top surfboard

What I like to do is the wax cross hatch method. It basically involves making a criss cross pattern over the surface of your board with a bar of wax.

I don’t bother with a base wax on a foamie – I don’t really see the point to be honest.

Important: Especially with soft tops, you need to pause from time to time when rubbing wax on the deck – the reason being, the wax can get warm and melt a little, resulting in poor application. So go slow in order to keep the wax cold.

I’m using a bar of Sticky Bumps cool wax in this demo.

Step 1:

Using the corner of the surf wax, scribe a diagonal line across the board. I have seen people using a ruler or straight edge to do this, but I am not that picky so I just do it by eye.

Step 2:

Continue with the diagonal lines up and down the length of your board until you get to the end.

Step 3:

Wax the from the other side now, wax your way back to where you started – you should get to something like in the picture below – a series of cross hatching across the deck of your board.

Step 4:

Optional: Depending on the level of grip you want, up to step 3 may be enough. If you feel you need a bit more grip, then hold the bar as shown and then rub across the deck of your board to cover the entire area.

Small bumps will begin to appear, just like you would get when you wax a fiberglass surfboard

Step 5:

And that’s it! You’re done.

Do I need different wax for cold water vs warm water?

Actually, YES.

Surf wax behaves differenty depending on the temperature of the air, and the temperature of the water.

If you use warm water wax in cold water, the wax will be too hard, and won’t give enough grip.

If you use cold water wax in hot water, the softer col-water wax, will melt very easily and will actually just smear off your surfboard. Not ideal!

What are the best surf wax brands?

There are a few brands that I think are the best in the business. I have already done a deep dive into all of the surf wax out there. Check it out.

Sticky Bumps

Really great surf wax, always makes perfect bumps, and can be found at a great price across the Globe. My personal favorite (and the smell reminds me of being a kid). They also make other stuff like wax comb, traction pads and even candles.

Sex Wax Quick Humps

Sex wax is THE name in surfboard wax – probably becuase they make amazing wax. The one to go for is the Quick Humps formula which is a more modern surf wax, which last longer than traditional surf wax, and makes great bumps on your surfboard.

Matunas Surf Wax

Still made on a farm in Northern California, Matunas is a brand that needs more publicity – they have a great environmental qualities – and have been around long before being green was cool.

They make all sorts of wax too – bodyboard wax, surf wax, candles as well as other stuff – a top brand.

How do you maintain a foam surfboard?

One of the main things to look out for when looking after foam surfboards, is to avoid long exposure to high temperatures and direct sunlight.

What happens is that the sun will heat the inside of your surfboard (and the glue that holds it all together) and the outer foam layer will start to expand and come apart.

I left this Surftech Bomber out all day, and the deck started to bubble and delaminate – I will post an article in the future about how to repair a foam surfboard.

Does my foam surfboard need a traction pad?

To be totally honest, no foam boards do not really need a traction pad.

Some soft tops come with them already installed and that’s cool, but I would probably not go out and buy an additional piece of traction for my soft top.

Two Reasons:

1) A traction pad will not stick very well to the soft foam deck on a soft top – and will likely peel away after a few surf sessions at the beach.

2) The type of surfing that requires a deck pad is normally on the high performance side – on a foamie you are generally not doing radical manoevres, and so I don’t think a deck pad is needed.

What type of wax is best for foamie surfboards?

Like I explained already, the most important thing to consider when choosing wax is the water temperature you are going to surf in.

And then for a foam surfboard, you are going to need a slightly softer compound of wax to get the wax to stick to the board.

Surf hard tropical wax and base coat wax doesn’t really stick too well to a soft surfboard – so I aim for cool or cold wax.

These are a little softer, and more tacky so they applicatiiojn is a little easier.

What about surf wax vs a traction pad?

This is personal preference.

You can go full on traction pad – with a full deck grip, but you would probably would do this on fiberglass boards instead of soft tops.

And like I said earlier, putting a deck pad on a soft top surfboard is probably not going to work out in the long run.

Do wavestorm boards need wax for grip?

Yes.

You don’t need a load of wax, but a light coating of surf wax is a good idea to stop your feet from slipping and also from your hands sliding off when you are duck diving.

Do I need basecoat on my soft surfboard?

I would avoid using basecoat wax on a soft top board.

Basecoat is very hard wax and can be tricky to apply.

Basically it’s a bit too hard to apply to the deck of the board. Whereas with fibreglass boards a fresh coat of basecoat with regular wax on top is my go-to method.

How do you take care of a foamie surfboard?

Like I mentioned earlier.

• Avoid leaving your board in direct sunlight for long periods of time
• Do NOT leave your foamie inside a hot car – it will melt!
• Try to keep your board in the shade as much as possible even if you are hanging out on the beah all day long.

How do you clean a soft top surfboard?

The best way to clean a foamie is with hot water and even some citrus wax remover.

The method I use is this.

• Heat some water in a kettle (not quite to boiling)
• Do this outside in the yard!
• Pour the hot water over the board, and then scrub with a yard brush to remove the as much wax as you can.
• This will remove the old wax and you should be able to apply a new fresh coat.