It’s one of the things we get asked l o a d s so here it is – our guide to gripping your deck. It’s by no means a definitive guide, everyone has their slightly different methods, but this is how we do it.
You will need:
Step1: Peel back a few inches of the backing paper then centre the sheet on your deck leaving a bit of excess all the way around.
Step 2: Start to stick down the griptape, peeling off the backing as you go and pressing down to make sure there are no air bubbles.
Step 3: When you’ve pulled off the whole backing sheet, place it on top of the griptape (to protect your hands) and push out any stray air bubbles.
Step 4: You should have a nice overhang of griptape around the edges of your deck.
Step 5: Using the edge of a file or the metal part of a screwdriver, go round the edges of the deck at an angle. This not only gives you a white line that you can use as your guide when you’re cutting the grip, but it also makes the griptape weaker along that line so it should cut really easily.
Step 6: Now cut along the line you just made using a very sharp Stanley knife/box cutter or a razor blade. Try to make long, smooth cuts so your edges don’t end up looking choppy.
Step 7: When you’ve cut off all your excess griptape, grab a bit and use it like sandpaper to soften off those freshly cut edges.
Step 8: Use a screwdriver to poke holes through the grip from the side of the deck with the graphics. This is for your truck mounting hardware. Then flip over and poke the holes through from the grip side, getting rid of any excess grip.
Step 9: Attach your trucks and get your skate on!
We hope this helps!
Kates Skates 