02:48
Faizan
Tuning up a skateboarding board can make it seem new again. Even if you have never ridden a skateboard and are tuning it up for your child, it is an easy process.
Take the trucks off of the skateboard. The trucks are the metal frames that hold the wheels to the board. Once those are off you need to remove the wheels from the trucks. If your skateboard is old there is a good chance that there is some rust on the trucks that will affect the performance of the wheels and the turning of the skateboard. It is recommended to dip the trucks in rust remover. Make sure the trucks are dry and set them aside until you need to put them back together. If the wheels you took off of your skateboard are the old big wheels you might want to think about buying new low profile wheels, which will give you much improved performance. If you cannot afford new wheels, you can make them run better by simply cleaning out the bearings with a toothbrush and make sure you get all the grit and dirt that is trapped. Now take some graphite that usually comes in a tube and pour some inside the bearings. This will allow your wheels to turn with less friction and give you a smoother ride.
While you have the trucks and wheels off of your board it is a good time to address the shape of the board itself. Most old boards have many rips in or no grip tape at all. The grip tape is the sand paper type surface on the top of the skateboard. You should remove the old grip tape and replace it with new, as this will make your board look new. The easiest way to remove the old grip tape is with a paint scraper. Just go under the edge of the grip tape and work your scraper underneath. Just keep scrapping away until the grip tape is removed. There might be some adhesive still on the surface where the grip tape was removed, just take some fine grit sandpaper and sand down the top and try to remove as much of the adhesive as you can. While you are sanding off the adhesive go ahead and sand the edges of the board, which will probably be pretty beat up if the skateboard was used right. When you are sanding the edges make sure you don’t sand so much that you change the shape of the board but just enough to make it smooth. If you plan on painting the bottom of the board just continue to sand the bottom until the old paint is gone, but again don’t sand too much, just enough to get the job done.
Now you should have a smooth board that is ready for paint and grip tape. First paint the bottom of the board. Don’t paint the sides because they get beat up frequently when riding your skateboard and will make your new tuned up skateboard look old quickly. Now that the bottom is painted put a layer of wax on the bottom and the edges of the board to help protect against the elements and help with performance on rail sliding. Then take the new grip tape you purchased and cover the entire top with it, don’t worry about cutting it to the right shape you can trim it off after you apply it.
Attach the trucks to the board the same way you took them off. Spray a small amount of oil on the rubber mount to keep it from drying out and apply oil whenever needed. Now it is time to attach the wheels to the trucks. Whether you bought new wheels or not you put them on the same way you took them off. Do not put oil in your wheels if you used graphite because it will mix together and make sludge and actually hurt the performance of your board. If you did not use graphite then you can use oil but it will not last as long as graphite and you will need to oil the wheels more often. You should now have a skateboard that doesn’t just look new but the performance is also much improved. This is an easy way to tune up a skateboard and will extend the life of your skateboard greatly.
Take the trucks off of the skateboard. The trucks are the metal frames that hold the wheels to the board. Once those are off you need to remove the wheels from the trucks. If your skateboard is old there is a good chance that there is some rust on the trucks that will affect the performance of the wheels and the turning of the skateboard. It is recommended to dip the trucks in rust remover. Make sure the trucks are dry and set them aside until you need to put them back together. If the wheels you took off of your skateboard are the old big wheels you might want to think about buying new low profile wheels, which will give you much improved performance. If you cannot afford new wheels, you can make them run better by simply cleaning out the bearings with a toothbrush and make sure you get all the grit and dirt that is trapped. Now take some graphite that usually comes in a tube and pour some inside the bearings. This will allow your wheels to turn with less friction and give you a smoother ride.
While you have the trucks and wheels off of your board it is a good time to address the shape of the board itself. Most old boards have many rips in or no grip tape at all. The grip tape is the sand paper type surface on the top of the skateboard. You should remove the old grip tape and replace it with new, as this will make your board look new. The easiest way to remove the old grip tape is with a paint scraper. Just go under the edge of the grip tape and work your scraper underneath. Just keep scrapping away until the grip tape is removed. There might be some adhesive still on the surface where the grip tape was removed, just take some fine grit sandpaper and sand down the top and try to remove as much of the adhesive as you can. While you are sanding off the adhesive go ahead and sand the edges of the board, which will probably be pretty beat up if the skateboard was used right. When you are sanding the edges make sure you don’t sand so much that you change the shape of the board but just enough to make it smooth. If you plan on painting the bottom of the board just continue to sand the bottom until the old paint is gone, but again don’t sand too much, just enough to get the job done.
Now you should have a smooth board that is ready for paint and grip tape. First paint the bottom of the board. Don’t paint the sides because they get beat up frequently when riding your skateboard and will make your new tuned up skateboard look old quickly. Now that the bottom is painted put a layer of wax on the bottom and the edges of the board to help protect against the elements and help with performance on rail sliding. Then take the new grip tape you purchased and cover the entire top with it, don’t worry about cutting it to the right shape you can trim it off after you apply it.
Attach the trucks to the board the same way you took them off. Spray a small amount of oil on the rubber mount to keep it from drying out and apply oil whenever needed. Now it is time to attach the wheels to the trucks. Whether you bought new wheels or not you put them on the same way you took them off. Do not put oil in your wheels if you used graphite because it will mix together and make sludge and actually hurt the performance of your board. If you did not use graphite then you can use oil but it will not last as long as graphite and you will need to oil the wheels more often. You should now have a skateboard that doesn’t just look new but the performance is also much improved. This is an easy way to tune up a skateboard and will extend the life of your skateboard greatly.
Posted in: skateboarding
