Whether you’re planning a snowboarding Switzerland or just love snowboarding in your local town during winter months, you’re bound to be familiar with the rust that slowly starts to erode the edges of your rusty snowboard.
Rusty edges are not just an eyesore to your board but can also affect your cruise speed on the slopes, which can be a massive bummer on your snowy day!
Firstly, there are preventative measures snowboarders can take to stretch the lifespan of their boards so that you can get the most out of purchasing a brand-new board. Drying off your board after using it is of utmost importance in preventing future rust spots. We want you to enjoy your board for as long as possible.
You may think that it’s time for a new snowboard, but replacing a good quality snowboard can be quite a costly affair, and you may not have made provisions for it in your budget.
Don’t panic! We’ve made a quick guide to show you how to easily remove rust from snowboard edges. Let’s get your board ready in time for your winter holiday!
Tip: Looking for the best snowboard? Here is a list of brands to look out for.
Step 1
Things you need: rubbing alcohol, diamond stone
Prop your board up on a well-supported work area on the table. You’ll need enough room to inspect the edges and identify the problem areas. We recommend using any solid object to prop up your snowboard.
You’ll then want to remove any excess wax on the sides of your board. Try to make sure to get as much of it off the sides of the board as possible.
After locating the rusted areas and cleaning the problem spots with a clean towel, you’ll use a diamond stone with rubbing alcohol to slide up and down along the snowboard edges until all the rust starts to loosen and dislocate.
If you don’t have a diamond stone, you can also use a fine file(link). We recommend being gentle if you’re using this tool as you don’t want to miss-shape your board’s edges. Once you’ve grazed the rusted edges with a few strokes, loosening the rust, you can proceed to the next step.
Step 2
Things you need: a gummy stone or medium grit sandpaper
Use your gummy stone or medium grit sandpaper and add an extra 7-8 glides, from tip to tail, along the edge of your board until all minor chinks and rust spots start to fade away and loosen.
Extensive rust damage can be remedied using a flat file, but be careful not to angle your strokes at more than 45 degrees, as you might damage the curvature of your board’s edges. Work from tip to tail as you methodically sand away the rusted areas.
Step 3
Using your diamond stone once again, glide up and down the board’s edges – you’ll want to try and precisely remove any lingering patches during this phase to really refine the rust removal process.
Remember: don’t graze your board’s edges too hard because you might damage the board’s edges which can affect its performance on the snow.
Step 4
Take some more medium-grit sandpaper or your gummy stone and carefully work it over the edges of the board a few more times to not only be thorough but also to refine the rust removal process such that there are no more rust particles left over.
This may seem a bit overboard (it had to be done) and unnecessarily pedantic but there is never any harm in taking your time to be thorough to do a good job.
Rather be safe than have your pocket be needlessly sorry later.
Step 5
Finally, using either a clean towel or preferably a dry and clean microfibre cloth, wipe down any leftover rust to reveal your shiny, almost-new edges. This step is purely for cleaning your snowboard after you’ve removed all the major problem areas and buildup.
So long as you have meticulously followed each step with care and taken the time to be as rigorous as necessary, your board should be as good as new and ready to be your partner in crime on your next snowy adventure.
You should also re-wax your board. For more info, check out our guide on How To Wax A Snowboard.
Be sure to pay extra attention to drying the edges of your board. Make sure you don’t leave your board outside, especially in the snow – even when you are taking a break from shredding the day away, keep your board thoroughly dry at all times when not using it.
Final Thoughts on How to Remove Rust from Snowboard Edges
removing rust from snowboard edges is easy if you make sure to precisely graze the problem areas off of your board. It’s important to remember to adequately prepare for the off-seasons when you’ll inevitably need to put your board away.
If you’ve followed our guide and have successfully removed rust from your good-as-new board, you’ll need to prevent any more rust from happening while your board is in storage.
After drying vigorously, take an iron and melt a thick coat of snowboard wax onto your boards bone-dry edges to seal them.
Peel the wax layer off when you’re ready to go snowboarding again. Obviously this is not a once-off fix, so refer back to the guide when you start noticing the sneaky return of that pesky rust bug!
