Skateboard wraps are easy to apply and a great way to add a unique look to your skateboard. You can apply a wrap in less than an hour, and you won’t need to purchase any special equipment or materials. If you’re looking for something fun and unique, give it a try!
As a skateboarder, you have probably noticed that there is no manual when it comes to wrapping your skateboard. Many companies will advise you to use their specific method, but the best way is to use your own judgment. The things you should be worried about are the comfort of the deck and a nice, neat finish. One thing you need to consider is the material of your skateboard and what method will be best to wrap it with.
Materials Needed To Wrap A Skateboard
When wrapping a skateboard, you’ll need the following materials:
- Scissors/ Xacto knife
- Tape measurer or ruler (the same thing!) This is so you can measure the length of your board and cut strips of paper accordingly. A tape measurer is also handy for measuring how much adhesive you will need for each section of tape. If you don’t have one already, go buy one at the store! It’ll be worth it once we’re done here. And whatever else your heart desires—it’s time for some shopping!
- Pen
- 2-3 different colors of duct tape (one color for each side of the board)
- Wrapping paper or other decorative paper you’d like to use for your board. You can also get creative with fabric or other materials if you have them lying around!
- Sandpaper (optional)
Steps for Wrapping a Skateboard
Selecting the Right Wrap
Selecting the right wrap for your skateboard is a serious decision.
Pick a wrap that matches the style of your skateboard. Do you have a cruiser, or do you like to ride longboards? If so, pick something that will complement that style. For example, if your board has a lot of curves and designs on it, look for something with similar shapes and colors in the wrap pattern.
Pick a wrap that matches the color scheme of your deck and wheels together. This ensures that all three elements match seamlessly when put together (as shown in this article), but also gives each element its own personality when taken separately as well—especially if they’re different colors!
For example: say you have blue wheels with white letters; then go with something like our “Diamonds” pattern because it features pastel colors like pink and purple which bring out those same hues in both items nicely without overpowering either one individually.”
Preparing Your Skateboard
Before you do anything, make sure your skateboard is clean. You should remove the wheels and hardware, grip tape, and old wrap if it’s already there. This not only makes the process go more smoothly but also ensures that your new wrap will stick well to your board without lint or other debris getting in between.
If you’re using a non-stretchy wrap like grip tape or foam tape (or if it’s a deck with a lot of concave), then make sure to sand down any high points on your board so that they are completely flat before applying adhesive. The adhesive needs an even surface to adhere properly!
Removing Wax and Grip tape
You have to remove all of the old wax before applying new layers, otherwise it will get mixed together. You can do this with a heat gun or hair dryer, but you don’t want the surface too hot because it could damage your grip tape if it gets too soft. The best way to remove wax is by heating up your skateboard and using a razor blade scraper to scrape off any leftover bits from previous layers. If there are stubborn spots that won’t come off with just scraping, try using alcohol (rubbing alcohol works best) in order to loosen up those areas so that they can be scraped away more easily.
Once all of your old wax has been removed from both sides of your board and out from under its edges/corners, use your heat gun again—but this time set on high—to warm up one side of your deck while working on getting off any remaining grip tape residue with a scraper or razor blade scraper tool until everything looks nice and clean!
Clean the skateboard
- Clean the skateboard. First, use a damp cloth to wipe off any dirt and dust from the surface of your skateboard. Be sure to pay special attention to all sides, especially where you grip it when riding.
- Clean around your grip tape. If you have any dirt or debris stuck in between your grip tape and board, use a toothbrush (or even just an eraser) and gently scrub at that area until it is clean again.
- Clean between wheels and trucks with a toothbrush: Use a toothbrush to clean away all of that grime from between your wheels and trucks! This will help keep them rolling smoothly over time!
Measure the skateboard
Before you start, you’ll need to get the dimensions of your skateboard. Follow these steps:
- Measure the width of your deck. This is usually expressed in inches. The standard size for a skateboard is 7.5″ inches wide, but some are slightly wider or narrower than that (and they can also be customized). If you’re not sure how wide it should be, ask someone who knows about boards, or just go with an average size and work with what’s there!
- Measure the length of your deck as well—usually this will be expressed in centimeters or millimeters if you have an older board or one made by an independent brand like Atomik; however many modern companies use inches when describing their sizes online instead so keep an eye out for both numbers while shopping around if unsure which style works best for whatever kind of skateboarding experience you’re looking forward towards having!
- Finally measure wheelbase length before wrapping begins since this measurement determines how far apart everything else needs to go spaced out evenly around wheels’ circumference (more detail coming soon!)
Cut out the paper pattern
You will need the following items:
- Measuring tape
- Pen or pencil
- Ruler (optional)
Use a measuring tape to find the width of your skateboard at its widest point and write it down. Then, use another measuring tape to measure the length of your skateboard from nose to tail and write that down too. You should have two numbers—one for width, one for length—and they should be fairly close together because most boards are around 9 inches wide and 32 inches long. This will help you make sure that you have enough paper for wrapping!
Applying Grip Tape
The grip tape is the grip on top of the board. It’s usually called grip tape because it provides your feet with something to hold onto, but it’s also sometimes called deck grip. Grip tape comes in different colors and patterns; you can even buy custom-designed grip tape if you’re feeling adventurous!
Usually, you’ll apply it with a razor blade. If this is your first time using razor blades for anything other than shaving, follow these instructions:
- Carefully peel back one section of tape from its backing while holding down another section with your other hand (so that no extra adhesive drips off).
- Apply pressure downward through both hands until the old piece peels off completely. This should take about five seconds tops—you want to get an even application without leaving any sticky residue behind or going overboard and messing up all your hard work thus far!
- If things go wrong at this point don’t fret; just keep trying until everything looks right again before proceeding further down into Step 4 below where we’ll show how easy it is achieve perfect results every time using only two tools: A sharpie marker pen (#00) along with some standard household items like scissors & stapler (or tape dispenser depending on whether or not yours has been discontinued yet).
Apply adhesive to the veneer
Now that the veneer is free from any dirt or roughness, you can apply adhesive to its entire surface. It’s important to note that the glue should be applied to both sides of the board at the same time. This ensures that when you press on the veneer and skateboard together, they will stick in one direction.
If you’re not sure how much glue to use, we recommend starting with a small amount and then adding more if needed later on.
Apply adhesive to the board
Next, you should apply the adhesive to your skateboard. It’s important to get all of it on there, so you can use a roller or brush for this purpose. If you want to use a sponge, that works too!
Mount the veneer on the board using a roller
- Mount the veneer on the board using a roller.
- Cut off the excess veneer that extends beyond the edge of your skateboard with a utility knife or box cutter, depending on what kind of blade you’re using.
- Use an iron to press down on all edges of your skateboard until they are secure and stuck together well enough that they won’t come apart when you ride it!
Cut out excess material using an Xacto knife or scissors.
A common way to wrap a skateboard is by cutting out excess material. You can do this in many ways, but the most effective is probably with an Xacto knife or scissors. Use a ruler to measure the width of your deck and then cut out enough extra material so that when you wrap it around, there’s no excess left over on either side of the board (that would look messy!).
Trim off excess material and tape up corners.
Once you’ve measured your board, use a ruler to trim off any excess material. You should have at least 1/8 of an inch of material hanging over each side of the board, but no more than 3/16 of an inch. This will help keep your tape from peeling up after being applied and make sure that everything is nice and smooth when you go to apply it.
Once you’re certain that all edges are trimmed down, use an Xacto knife or box cutter blade to cut off any sharp corners or frayed edges on the tape (be careful not to cut yourself!). Your final product should be dulled down so that it won’t cut anyone during usage.
Finally, take some masking tape and tape up all four corners of your skateboard extremely well—the tighter this step is done, the easier time bending will have in staying secure throughout travels!
Decorate the box
By the time you reach this point, you’re probably ready to start your skateboard journey. And what better way to celebrate the occasion than with an awesome new box to hold your new toy?
The first step is decorating the box in any way that you see fit. You can use stickers, paint, or other decorative materials. If your imagination is running wild and you’re feeling like overachieving: go ahead! There’s no limit on how far you can take it. The sky’s the limit when it comes to expressing yourself through artistry—literally!
If nothing else, your new box will serve as a physical reminder of everything that went into making this purchase happen—the hours spent browsing online; the minutes poring over reviews; maybe even some tears shed while staring at all those price tags… Trust us when we say that there are few things more satisfying than seeing all those sacrifices come together in one perfect package (or two).
Wrapping a skateboard is not difficult, but it does take some time and planning.
Wrapping a skateboard is not difficult, but it does take some time and planning. Skateboarders have their own unique artistic styles that they use to design their boards. However, there are certain steps you need to follow when wrapping your skateboard so that you can get the right kind of look for your board.
FAQs
How To Wrap A Skateboard With Wheels?
Let’s start by saying that you will need a heat gun. You can find these at hardware stores or online, but they’re not too expensive. This is the same tool we use for shrink wrapping our boards, so if you’re already familiar with this process then it should be easy to pick up again.
Now that we have discussed the tools needed for wrapping your board, let’s talk about how to wrap a skateboard with wheels!
Begin by laying out your skateboard on a flat surface so the wheels point upward and away from you (this is called “flat tracking”). Next, apply heat directly over one of the wheels by holding the hot end of your heat gun just beneath it and moving it slowly along its entire length until all four wheels are covered in a thin layer of plastic film (about 20 seconds should do).
When done correctly, this will shrink down any wrinkles or creases caused by uneven application of pressure during installation—which often happens when rolling out new wraps onto multiple parts like decks and decksets—and give them more uniform consistency across their surfaces–making them easier to cut into strips later on down-road if necessary!
How To Shrink Wrap A Skateboard Deck?
If you want to shrink wrap a skateboard deck, then the best thing that you can do is use a heat gun. This will provide you with the best results and will help to keep your board in good condition.
There are two ways that you can go about doing this: by using a heat gun or by using a hair dryer. If possible, we would recommend going with the former option because it is easier to use and has less risks involved than the latter option does.
Read: What are skateboard decks made out of?
Can You Vinyl Wrap A Skateboard?
You can wrap a skateboard, but you’ll want to make sure that you do it correctly. You’ll need a lot of tape and patience!
Take your time and make sure you’re wrapping the board correctly. If you’re wrapping an old skateboard, then it’s always best to remove the wheels in case they fall off while wrapping. This way, you won’t get any glue on the surface of your new skateboard.
To start off with, place down some newspapers or newspaper sheets on top of each other so that they form a pile about six inches high and roughly as wide as your deck is long. This will help protect your work surface from getting dirty during this process!
Now take one side of each sheet by folding it over onto itself until there is no longer any paper sticking out from underneath itself (this is called “creasing”). Crease all four sides without ripping through anything else except maybe some air pockets between two sheets but these should be easy enough for them not matter too much either way—it just depends how messy things get up close when doing this part next since there won’t be anything keeping them together anymore once these steps are finished up properly 🙂 But don’t worry too much about that yet because we haven’t even started yet…
How to Custom Wrap your Skateboard?
Start with a good-quality skateboard. If you want your board to look awesome, get one that looks great by default. You can always add graphics later!
Decide what size graphic you want. The standard skateboard size is 8” wide x 32” long, but if you prefer something smaller or larger than this standard size, feel free to go for it!
Choose a template for your design and print it out on photo paper (if possible). It doesn’t matter which side of the paper faces out when printing: just make sure it’s as big as possible without being too big to fit onto your skateboard!
How To Christmas Wrap A Skateboard?
Wrap the skateboard with a clear plastic bag and tape it. Place your wrapped skateboard on newspaper, then spray it with hairspray or an adhesive sealant. Wrap the board in bubble wrap, using as many layers as you like. Make sure to put them tightly together and leave no gaps between them (this will prevent tears). Tape down one end of your wrapping job and continue taping until you reach the other end of the board. You can use any kind of tape for this step; packaging tape works well because it’s easy to tear off when needed!
How To Gift Wrap A Skateboard Without A Box?
If you’re looking to give someone a skateboard but have limited space or are just trying to get creative, there are a few ways to package your gift.
- Wrap the skateboard in a gift box. It may be obvious what’s inside, but it can be handy if you want to keep it out of sight until they open it up and see their new board.
- Wrap the skateboard in a gift bag. This can be done with any kind of bag, whether it’s made from paper or fabric (if you’ve got an old shirt that’s too small for you anymore). You can also wrap it in tissue paper if that better fits your style!
- Wrap the skateboard directly with wrapping paper for a more traditional look—and then top off by tying ribbons around each end of your board.
Conclusion…
Once you have wrapped up your skateboard, you can enjoy it for years to come. Your board will stay looking fresh and new, and it will be ready to ride whenever you are. You may even find that wrapping skateboards becomes a new hobby of yours!