One thing skaters enjoy most about the skateboarding hobby is the ability to fully customize all aspects of a skateboard. For example, you can add your own wheels, your own trucks, your own board design and you can even make your own grip tape. Grip tape is the rough, black part on top of the skateboard where you stand as you ride. Commercially manufactured grip tape is just sandpaper with an adhesive on one side to stick to the board. Making your own grip tape is just a matter of having the right tools.
Place a large piece of sandpaper on top of your board.
Trace the outline of your skateboard with an X-ACTO knife. Leave about half an inch of room on the inside of the outline--grip tape never completely covers the top of the board.
Put the excess sandpaper aside.
Apply glue to the board; be careful not to add so much that it seeps out of the side or bunches under the sandpaper.
Place the sandpaper onto the center of the skateboard. Apply firm pressure to the sandpaper to secure its position. Allow the glue to dry overnight before using the skateboard. No further care is needed at this point, and you will not need to replace this sandpaper until you decide it's too worn.
Things You'll Need:
- Black sandpaper
- Glue
- X-ACTO knife
- Chalk
References
- "Stalefish: skateboard culture from the rejects who made it"; Sean Mortimer; 2008
Writer Bio
Seth Amery is a long-time writer whose specialties extend to all areas of video games, having written thousands of tutorials, fully-featured strategy guides and reviews across all platforms. His experience also includes one-on-one relationships with major gaming publishers to write previews on upcoming games, establish interviews with game designers and hold early game giveaways.
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