Applying Grip Tape when Building a Skateboard

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Russell Kompinski and on behalf of expert village we are going to learn how to purchase and assemble a skateboard. The grip tape of the deck is probably the most inexpensive item. This is, it doesn't really matter what brand you get. Once again, it's all about name brand association. The first thing that you're going to do when putting a board together is you're going to want to grip it. You can always ask the skate shop to grip it for you, but I always think it's a lot more fun doing it myself. The first thing you're going to do is to remove the backing and when applying the grip tape, you're going to want to kind of eyeball it to see on each end if there's enough room and in the middle although they do give you a little extra for leeway. You're going to start in the middle by placing it at an angle like so and letting it follow all the way. If you get a few air bubbles in it, you can always pop it out with a needle, although it goes down pretty smoothly."