Wax me up, I'm ready to play. |
Sticky teamrider Sunny Garcia
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| Last week I finally got around to stripping the old tar smeared wax off my
board. The months of sand that had accumulated on my deck was scrapping me raw and
something had to give. Faced with the wetsuit option I got busy. When done my
stick looked awesome, phat and phab except for the center deck pressure dings which told
the tale of some weak take-offs. Better cover those quick! Rummaging threw the dozen or so
of the complimentary waxes that remain from last year's board purchase I yanked the Sticky Bumps base coat and warm water bars
and applied them to the point that validated that I need a girlfriend. |
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Well success, my feet are grippin' and my plank is glowing with pride. And a
long time coming, but getting to the point that label that was loose in my back seat for
the last few days got me thinking ... "story"... so I gave 'em a call. |
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I talked to John Dahl, founder and the main dude at Sticky B's. Now for
all you experienced types my first question is going to get your brows moving, but I
really didn't know so I asked. Is surf wax really wax, like candle wax or something?
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| The short answer is yes. But John added some good trivia to his
explanation. Apparently, the major component of surf wax is paraffin wax, an oil
derived wax. Back in the mid 50's surfers started using canning paraffin or gulf wax. It
came in one pound boxes with four to five bars. It's the stuff grandma would seal her
preserves jars with. And who knew, but there is a key South Bay link to this story
and surf wax's history. The words 'Surf Wax' were actually trademarked and sold as a brand
name by a guy in Redondo Beach first in 1966. Though he was first in all the stores his
business eventually failed. On the bright side, he advertised his bars at 2 for a dollar,
that's about today's prices as E.T. Surf sells all their waxes at 75¢ a bar. |
Sunny busting more lips.
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In 1967, custom blended waxes arrived on the scene that basically softened the paraffin.
Sticky Bumps was born in 1972 as "Sticky Wax."
In the 70's and 80's 'tackifiers' were added to the blended wax. Sticky Wax became "New Sticky" around 1978 and
finally Sticky Bumps in 1988 and was known for its characteristic fluorescent bars. Yep,
that was the 80's alright, ...just say no to Day-Glo. |
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A blast to Redondo's past.
(1966 Surfing Magazine, courtesy of John
Dahl)
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Relatively early on in 1976 the base coats concept came to the party
courtesy of Con Surfboards out of Santa Monica, home of my first board (as if anyone
cares.) The base coat ensures a harder bond between the fiberglass and softer,
tackier wax. But in 1992 Sticky Bumps got lucky. As John explained, though even at
Sticky things are done now by a lab chemist, way back in 1992 John was the guy trying to
build the better foot trap. Turns out a client brought him a compound for an
entirely different reason and John decided to dump it into his wax concoction. Though not
measured or weighed, from the very first bar produced he knew he had struck paydirt.
It's apparently a super-secret ingredient that John would only say is an inert component.
He wouldn't even divulge why his client was bringing him this substance, but it's what has
dramatically increased Sticky Bump sales. Ooo, surf wax intrigue, that's good stuff. Turns
out this component extends grip life past the traditional thirty minutes or so to 2 - 3
sessions and John is proud to say that Stick Bumps was the innovator.
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Anchored nicely.
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Now for those of you newcomers who look a little dumbfounded when the
local surf shop hotshot asks you what kind of wax you want, cool water wax is typically
for water/air of 58°-68° F (14°-19° Celsius) and warm water wax is typically for
water/air of 67°-74° F (19°-23° C.). The gist of it is that cold water wax is softer
and transfers more easily to your |
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| board, but try applying cool water wax in Hawaii for instance and it'll be
like spreading bananas on your stick, just plain messy. Conversely, warm |
| water/air wax is harder and won't transfer or apply well in February in
Santa Cruz for example. Sticky also sells Tropical for above 75° F (24° C) if
lucky enough to need it, and Cola for below 60° (15° C). |
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Just another South Bay thrasher
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- As far as application goes Sticky's modo is "Rub nose to tail, then accross rail to
rail." Catchy, huh?! And this cross direction forms those gripping bumps you're
shootin' for. Apply when your board is dry and not baking in the sunshine.
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All emergency application
methods acceptable.
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- Figuring I get a one-sided answer I then asked John about deck pads and what feeling he,
a wax maker had to say about them. To my surprise John said that "... a rear deck pad
is part of modern surfing. There is no substitute for wedging your back foot against the
pad block, the added grip and confidence of the traction combination gives the modern
surfer power over his turns." To this end John said that Sticky makes its own
pads with the newest version to be sprung at the ASR show in Dan Diego this fall. As a
matter of fact Sticky now sells some clothes, board bags and is coming out with a surfing
video for Christmas featuring their teamriders Sunny Garcia and Travis Mellem. All this
stuff will be available on-line at Sticky's upgraded flash website due for launch in a
couple of weeks at www.stickybumps.com.
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- Well, somewhere along the way I did indeed ask about that rubbing sand in your wax
trick... or desperation move, but as you might expect John couldn't resist answering
"...these folks have obviously never tried Sticky Bumps." I'll admit it's
easier on the nipples, I still have my three.
EP.
September, 2000 |
