How to Apply Skateboard Grip Tape

Video Transcript

"Putting your grip tape on your skateboard; now putting grip tape on a skateboard can be very tricky, especially if you don't know how it's done. When I first starting putting boards together, there, the system really wasn't developed, and it was very difficult to cut out the grip tape and try to place it on the board and have it line up on the edges. That's the wrong way to do it. So since then, I've learned how to put grip tape on easily, and I've put it on so many skateboards, that I almost don't like doing it anymore because of how it can affect your hands. Now, I would not suggest wearing a set of gloves to do this, but it's going to take its toll on your fingertips, because the grip tape is harsh and it will wear out your fingers. So what you want to do is, use a couple things to help you out. And one of those things is, after you've peeled your grip tape, which is the first step to putting together, or putting your grip tape on your skateboard, is to not throw away that piece that you've pulled off of the back of the grip. Now be careful to not have this stick onto anything, because grip tape sticky side is extremely sticky. Now remember, we're going to keep this piece because we want to try to keep our hands as new as we can, without losing a layer of skin while putting this together. So, with this particular grip tape, we've got a logo on here, so what I would suggest, is putting the logo towards the backside of the skateboard. The reason for doing this, is that, while you drag your foot up the board for an Ollie, or any other kinds of flip-tricks, you want to make sure that the dye-cut piece is not underneath your foot, but it's in a place where your feet won't be sliding very often. So, I'd look at the board, and I'd make sure that I know which side is the nose and the tail, because from the top, sometimes boards can look even and it's hard to tell. So, I'd put the logo towards the back. And what you're going to want to do is, first stick the grip tape on the tip of the tail, and start it from there. Now, just letting the whole sheet hang, take your fingers and kind of run down the center of the grip tape. Now, you're going to get some air bubbles, as you do this, but that's okay. And you may also have to pull it off to fix it, but if you do this slowly and head all the way up, like this, that's the best way to get it on. Now, this is a perfect example of me putting the grip tape on a little too fast, so what I'm going to do is, I'm going to rip the grip tape off quickly and I'm going to set it up again. This can be done at any time while you're putting your board together, and it's not too bad of a mistake. So I'm going to put it back on again, using the same technique, only making sure that I go a little straighter. So I put the tip on there and I slide my hand all the way up the grip. Now, you just want to make sure that there's no bubbles in the center of the board only. Now, once it's straight line there, you're going to want to press outward from there and clear out any air bubbles, or any gaps that have formed in the grip. Now don't worry about every single air bubble, because we'll eventually get those. Now, you remember I told you to hold onto this extra sheet, the extra backing to the grip tape. Now, the best way to roll out this air bubble stuff, is to actually place, with the smooth side, that is the sticky side onto the top of the board. And now you get to roll this out over the top and try to save some of the palm of your hand that you end up grating away while putting the board together."