Scratches on the base of my snowboard

Question
QUESTION: Hello. I have the 5150 vice and on the base of it are many scratches. The scratches aren't very deep but if you were to run your hand over them, you could definitely tell there are scratches. My question is will I be fine for the upcoming season or will I have to fix the scratches and if so, what procedures will I have to take to fix it? I'm just curious because I don't want the scratches to ruin any of my runs and cause an injury or anything.

ANSWER: Hey Tyler,

Hope you're excited for the winter season! Scratches are only a serious problem when they are deep enough to affect performance or go through the plastic P-tex material and into the base of the board. You want to make sure water doesn't seep into the core of your snowboard as that will eventually cause serious damage. If you have a lot of small scratches then your board will likely ride slowly and want to go in a straight line, usually making for a more tiring day. This can easily be fixed by you're local shop though. Try asking for a base grind and tune up. The total shouldn't be too expensive and it will get your board riding like new!

Enjoy!
- Jonathan

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm not sure of any shops near me that offer tune ups or base grinding. What places do you suggest in Toledo, Ohio that offer tune ups and base grindings?

Answer
Tyler,

I've never been to Ohio, but try the phonebook or internet. Lots of shops have the basics or even many ski areas have a tune setup. If none of that works, buy a used iron set it to low melt some wax on your board and scrape till its smooth!

Cheers,
Jonathan