STEP 1:

Lay the board out between two chairs, or whatever else works.  You need some snowboard or ski wax (they're the same thing) from a board shop, and an iron.  Any iron will work and we recommend the cheapest one you can find

Set the iron at the lowest temperature that will melt the wax when you press the bar of wax against the iron.  If the iron begins to smoke then it is too hot.  A good starting point is the setting for nylon

Hold the bar of wax against the iron with the pointy part of the iron down.  The wax will melt and drip onto the board.  Move back and forth as shown to put wax onto the surface of the board

When you're done dripping wax onto the board the surface will look like this.

The surface of the board should be evenly covered in wax drops.  Now you can put your bar of wax away and get ready to melt the wax into the base

STEP 2:

Believe it or not, the base of the board works like a sponge, and it can actually absorb wax.  The wax must be melted to be absorbed, so you have to melt the wax into the base with the iron

This part does cary some risk of damaging your board.  The rule is: KEEP THE IRON MOVING.  Don't let the iron sit in one place ever.  If the board gets too hot the epoxy which holds it together can begin to break down, and this is not good.  However, it's easy to tell if the board is getting to hot.  Just reach down and touch the topsheet of the board.  The topsheet should never become more than slightly warm.  If the topsheet in an area becomes very warm you should either stop waxing and wait for it to cool down, or move to another part of the board.  However, as long as you keep the iron moving, this isn't that big a danger

Move the iron back and forth over the board like you're ironing your pants.  The individual drips will melt and smear over the surface.  Smear the wax around with the iron until the entire surface of the base is covered evenly

STEP 3:

The wax that gets melted into the base is what makes you go fast.  Wax on top of the base slows you down, so after you have melted wax into the base you have to scrape the extra wax off

Before you scrape you have to wait for the board to completely cool.  Don't scrape until the top and bottom of the board are cold to the touch

You'll need a wax scraper.  We recommend a plastic scraper if you've never waxed before, although metal scrapers are available.  You can pick up a wax scraper at any good board shop

Use the scraper in long smooth strokes to scrape off all the wax you can.  The wax will come off in white flakes that look like snow but are really hard to get out of hotel room carpets (do this step outside)

You'll know you're done when the base looks smooth and wax doesn't come off any more when you scrape

STEP 4:

This one's optional.  To go slightly faster, you can rub a scotchbrite pad (like you use to clean your dishes) over the base to put a pattern in the wax