Maintaining your crete
The Romans were not the first to use concrete but they were the first to use it in a majority of their construction. They would create their own molds with wood to create bricks (perhaps the first fingerboard ledges?). After more than 2000 years a lot of these structures still exist.
Much older concrete structures still exist too. Going back to 3000 BCE, the Egyptians used 500,000 tons of mortar in Giza at the Great Pyramids. Around this same time, the Chinese were using cement to help build The Great Wall.
Concrete was even used as far back as 6500 BCE. Traders in the region of current day Syria and Jordan used concrete to build houses, walking paths, and cisterns for water collection.
The fact that we know this and some of these structures still stand is a testament to the strength and enduring qualities of crete. Concrete structures can be wiped out by something cataclysmic but they won’t burn like wood or rust like metal.
With all of that, its still important to maintain your concrete so it ages nicely and not like an ancient ruin- especially if your going to be skating it.
Thankfully I got you covered. See, when you first get your concrete obstacle it will look like this (below). Very smooth, with sharp square edges. At this point wax isn’t necessary as I clear coat all my concrete but it can help.
As you skate it more and more, the square edges will begin to wear down exposing the raw concrete below any paint or clear coat. This is where you need some skate wax.
I make my wax with either CCS Skate Wax or Shorts Curb Candy so you can rest assured your getting the proper tool for the job and not just melted down scented candles. Skate wax is generally a mix of 60% paraffin and 40% of beeswax, the paraffin helps to give the wax its shape and consistency.
Run the skate wax over the exposed concrete a couple times. Run a heat source over it for just a second to melt the wax (you can skip this step if you don’t have a heat source handy). After that take the rough side of a paper towel and wipe off any excess.
Repeat the process a couple times until the grind feels like you want it too. If you do a grind and have wax all over your trucks, wipe off more of the excess.
I do this process every couple of seshes to keep the concrete wearing nicely. The continued wax and heat makes the concrete look more and more like a real skate spot over time.
I mainly only wax the exposed concrete but you can rub some on the top and side edges as well to help tail and nose slides feel smoother. Less is more on those areas as too much will make it feel sticky.
Skating and waxing your concrete obstacles will give them characteristics over time unique to your piece. Just like your board graphic wears, an obstacle will too, make your mark and have fun doing it.
images:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_concrete#/media/File:Rome-Pantheon-Interieur1.jpg
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/569692
https://riversonghousewright.wordpress.com/about/19-from-rome-to-portland-the-story-of-concrete/
