So you’ve got a new longboard and it’s looking pretty sick. You want to show off your awesome board and ride it around all day, but there is one problem: the grip tape isn’t as cool as your board. Instead of getting rid of that old grip tape or leaving it on forever (which some people do), why not try out some custom grip tape? It will make your board look even better than before! And if you’re feeling really creative, you can put anything on the top side of the grip tape – from funny quotes to images of yourself riding your board. The possibilities are endless! So get ready for an epic ride with this awesome stuff we call “grip tape”!
What is grip tape and what does it do?
Grip tape is a material that goes on the top side of your longboard (or skateboard). The reason why it’s called “grip tape” is because this stuff makes it easier to grip onto your board. Of course, if you’re doing tricks like ollies or kickflips, then you don’t need anything to make it easier to grip – but for those who are cruising around and want something to make them stand out more than usual, getting custom grip tapes will do the trick!
What kind of things can I put on my custom grip tape?
The possibilities are endless. Some people simply prefer using the original design of the grip tape that comes with their board, which is absolutely fine too. However, if you want your board to be more personalized, then there are always designs that can represent what you like. For example, people who own longboards that have a maple leaf on them usually get their longboard grip tape customized with colors and designs of the maple leaf. There are also other boards designed with other specific things in mind, so what you can put depends entirely on you!
Check the official link: https://longboardpro.com/best-grip-tape-for-longboards/
What materials do I need to customize my own grip tape?
You don’t really need anything because all you have to do is hire a company to customize your board for you. If you want, you can try it yourself but this might be dangerous so I wouldn’t recommend it.
It isn’t hard at all! In fact, there are tons of websites that will let you customize your own grip tape for your longboard. These websites often have pre-designed boards to choose from and even some tools to help you put together the design for your custom grip tape.
There are also other ways that involve a level of skill and knowledge that is beyond me, so I’m just going to talk about the basic idea: Round up some people, grab some spray paint, get your grip tape, find a design to trace, and go to town!
How to apply grip tape on a longboard
Start off by gathering your supplies. You will need a design for your grip tape, a ruler, a marker, spray paint (and stencil if you’re using one), and finally the grip tape itself.
Make sure that your board is clean of any dirt or debris before starting to put down the grip tape. If there are any dents in the board it may be best to go ahead and get them out with some wood filler before putting on the grip tape. Make sure you allow enough time for the filler to dry so that it doesn’t get into or onto your freshly applied grip tape!
Once your board is ready take a piece of graph paper and lay it over top of your longboard. Draw letter-size rectangles where each circle of your grip tape will go. Draw them in the pattern that you want (don’t worry, if they’re slightly off it won’t matter) making sure to leave two inches of the board on each end uncovered so that when you cut out the pieces you’ll still have enough to hold down the edges with.