Surf Wax has been around since the 60's (before that Parafin wax was used). The 'new' surf wax was easier to put on to the deck of the board for grip and lasted longer in the water, but its still along way from where we are now.
Even in very simple terms - Surf Wax we use comes in a range of colour, smells and most importantly - Temperatures.
Wax for cold water is softer, and for hot water harder and there are option in between, typically you might see 'Cold, Cool, Warm, Tropical' choices.
In the UK you would use at least Cold and Cool - maybe Warm (if we have one of 'those' summers.
When applying wax to your board there are a few things to consider
A) If you ski or snowboard - it's not the same. Surf wax goes on the deck for grip, not on the bottom for glide.
B) If you leave your board in the sun (or in a hot car) the wax will melt and run off your board.
C) Sex Wax is for your surfboard. It does nothing if used anywhere else. Trust us.
So, how to get the perfect wax job...
1) Clean you old wax off first. Let your board warm a little - don't leave it to bake in the sun, just add a bit of warmth.
2) Use a WAX COMB / WAX REMOVER to remove all solid traces of the old wax.
3) You can use an old cloth to remove any final residue from the board, don't use harsh solvents / chemicals. A handful of cooking flour rubbed in is a easy way to lift and pull the last bits away.
4) You are now looking at your clean board. Ideally have bars of wax - one for the current water temperature and one a step warmer, so the wax is harder. Check our current range of Surf Wax here.
5) Take the Harder Wax and rub a line across the board, from rail to rail in straight lines - at 45 degrees to the stringer (the center line of the board). Now do the same back the other way. Leave a space around the 2 fingers width between each line.
6) Then move down and up the board, so you cover the board with a criss cross pattern of lines from the tail to where you will be laying on the board and from rail to rail. This base coat of harder wax will make it easier to apply the softer wax and also creates a 'base' that remains even if you wear into the top layer of soft wax
7) Now apply the top coat of wax - this is the softer wax. You can rub rail to rail and nose to tail and around in circles. This will create 'beads' of wax and texture that helps with grip in the water.
8) Finally you can use the wax comb and slightly drag this over the wax to add more texture - or just use the wax comb to bring 'dull' was back to life, and save adding more new wax.
Wax will last a long time - but each surf adds sand particles from the water which 'dulls' the wax. When your wax is turning dark and looks dirty, its time to clean it off and start again.
Hope that helps.