May 24, 2023 by Brad Hanson
A skateboard is a great way to get around, but it can be hard to maintain. How often do you clean your board? How often do you replace the grip tape of your board?
Grip tape is an important part of any skateboard. It provides the rider with traction and helps them hold on to their board, which means it’s essential for your safety.
If you don’t know how to put grip tape on a skateboard, then this article will show you exactly what needs to be done! This guide provides an easy way for anyone who needs help in applying a Grip Tape on their skateboard.
How to Put Grip Tape on a Skateboard?
Step One: Align the Grip Tape with the Deck
The first thing you need to do is get out your ruler and measure off a strip of grip tape that’s roughly an inch wide. How long this strip should be will depend on how big your skateboard deck is, so take some time measuring it until you have something perfect!
Step Two: Cut It Out With Scissors
Once you have the perfect sized strip, take out your scissors and make a vertical cut across it. How long this should again depend on how big your deck is, but generally speaking cutting off about six inches will do just fine. This length of tape should go all around the bottom of your board after being applied!
Step Three: Peel Off One End and Stick
This step may seem obvious to some people at first glance, but in order for grip tape to work its best when applied onto a skateboard, it has to be lined up perfectly! It’s important that before you actually start sticking down any part of the tape that you peel away one end so you can line everything up without messing anything else up along the way.
Step Four: Stick The Grip Tape Onto Your Board!
Now all that’s left for you to do after peeling the backing sheet away from the grip tape is stick it down on the deck of your skateboard with a bit of pressure. You can use an old credit card or any other stiff piece of plastic to smooth out bubbles from underneath the Grip Tape after you’ve placed it down onto your board!
Step Five: Clean the Deck and Grip Tape
Make sure that you clean both your deck and the newly applied grip tape with soap and water, as this will ensure a strong bond between them.
Step Six: Stick It Down! (After 20 minutes)
Now it’s time to put down some pressure on those strips of grip tape so they can adhere well to your board! Use anything heavy like textbooks or even bricks if you need something sturdy. Using books is probably easier than using bricks though since they’re smaller.
Just make sure there’s enough weight pushing down evenly across all four pieces of grip tape for about twenty minutes before moving onto step five.
Step Seven: Trim If Needed
Your new grip is done, but if some parts overlap over the edge of your board then just trim them away using a sharp knife so they don’t get in anyone’s way when riding around town! How easy was that? Using these steps will have you cruising comfortably again in no time at all.
Types of Grip Tapes
Let’s see what types of grip tapes you can choose from.
Standard Grip Tape
This is the most popular kind of grip tape, as it’s used on a majority of skateboard decks. It comes in a variety of colors and does an excellent job at keeping riders from slipping even when there’s water or oil on the ground!
Specialized Grip Tape
If you want to be the best at your board sport, then using specialized grip tape is a must! It comes in all sorts of different styles and colors, so it’s easy for anyone who wants their skateboard deck to look good.
Non-Abrasive Grip Tape
If you’re looking to keep your board from getting scratched up when you take it out on rough, bumpy terrain then this is the type of grip tape for you! How does a non-abrasive Grip Tape work?
Well, for regular grip tape to stick properly onto a skateboard deck it needs some sort of adhesive. The problem with these types of adhesive though is that they tend to leave behind lots and lots of residue which can be quite unsightly if left unhandled.
Boards that are made specifically for use by young children usually have Non-Abrasive Grip Tape applied because their decks aren’t meant to last very long anyway due to how often kids break them compared to adults who only do tricks occasionally.
Conclusion
Well, that’s all there is to How To Put Grip Tape on a Skateboard! All you have to do now is go out and ride around town or at your local skate park with confidence knowing that even if it starts raining, oil spills, etc. your grip tape will keep you safe from slipping so everyone else can see what a great skater you are!
Make sure that if at any point you feel like your grip tape might be too loose then just re-stick it again by placing some weight down onto the board. That’s it for this article, hope this helped and good luck riding with freshly applied grip tape! You’re now ready for those new tricks that you just watched on YouTube.
Brad Hanson is a skateboard enthusiast who owns and edits Skateboards Insider, a website devoted to the latest news and information on skateboarding. He started skating at the age of 12 and has been hooked ever since.