How to Apply Grip Tape to a Skateboard

What you need

You don't need special tools to grip a board. Here's everything required for a clean job:

• Grip tape sheet — standard sheets are 9\" × 33\", which covers most decks up to 9.5\" wide with overhang to trim. Some brands sell extra-wide sheets for longboard or cruiser decks.
• Sharp knife or razor blade — a utility knife with a fresh blade or a dedicated grip tape cutter. Dull blades tear grip tape instead of cutting it cleanly.
• Metal file or spare truck/bolt — for scoring the edge. The file also gives the cut edge a clean bevel finish.
• Skateboard hardware bolt — for poking the mounting holes through from below.
• Clean, dry deck — any moisture, oil, or wax on the deck surface will prevent proper adhesion.

Optional but useful: a rolling pin or cylindrical bottle to press the tape down evenly across the full width.

Step-by-step application

Step 1: Prepare the deck surface

The deck top must be completely dry and free of dust, wax, and oil. If this is a fresh deck from the shop, it's ready to go. If you're re-gripping, remove all traces of old grip tape adhesive — a little isopropyl alcohol on a cloth will clean residue without damaging the wood. Let it dry completely before applying new tape.

Step 2: Align the grip tape

Hold the grip tape sheet (still with backing on) over the deck. Center it widthwise — there should be roughly equal overhang on the toe and heel edges. Leave a little extra length at the nose for the curved kick. You'll trim all the overhang off later, so exact positioning matters less than making sure the whole deck top is covered.

Peel back 3–4 inches of the backing paper from one end of the sheet — just enough to expose the adhesive for the first contact point. Don't peel the whole sheet yet.

Step 3: Apply from center outward

This is the step most beginners rush and regret. The goal is to avoid trapping air under the tape.

Lower the exposed adhesive end onto the deck, starting at the middle of the board (not the nose or tail). Press that first section down firmly. Now slowly peel the backing while pressing the tape flat as you go — work toward the tail first, then flip the board and work from center toward the nose.

As you lay down each new section, press firmly with your palm or a smooth object to bond the tape before moving further. Work slightly side to side as you go to prevent wrinkles at the deck's concave curve.

Step 4: Press out air bubbles

Once the tape is fully down, go over the entire surface firmly with the heel of your hand. Then use a spare bolt, the handle of a screwdriver, or a skate tool to press in a firm grid pattern across the whole deck — including the concave curve on the sides.

Small bubbles near the edges can be pressed toward the edge and out. Bubbles in the middle of the deck are harder to remove without lifting. If you have a persistent center bubble, use a straight pin to make one tiny hole at its highest point, press the air out, and re-press the tape flat over the hole. The hole will be invisible under the grit.

Step 5: Score the deck edge

Hold the deck at an angle and rub a spare truck bolt or metal file firmly along the entire perimeter of the deck. Press into the edge so the grit wears down and a clear line appears showing exactly where the deck edge is. This score line is your cut guide — the tape will peel cleanly along it.

Go around the full perimeter including the nose and tail kicktail curves. Take your time on the curved sections — these are where a rough trim is most visible.

Step 6: Trim the excess

Using a sharp knife, cut along the scored line. Hold the blade at a slight outward angle (about 5–10° from vertical, angling away from the deck center) — this undercuts the edge slightly so the tape doesn't peel up from the side. Use a single smooth stroke per straight section; for the curves at the nose and tail, make short overlapping cuts following the curve.

Don't press too hard into the deck wood — you only need to cut the grip tape, not score the deck.

Step 7: Poke the bolt holes

Flip the deck over. Push a hardware bolt up through each of the eight mounting holes from underneath. The bolt tip will punch a clean circle through the grip tape. Wiggle the bolt gently to widen the hole just enough that a bolt head passes through freely — you don't want oversized holes that let bolt heads move around.

Step 8: Finish the edges

Run a metal file along all the cut edges at a 45° angle to bevel them slightly. This removes any loose grit that would peel off and makes the edge look clean. Some riders also press the cut edge down firmly with a thumbnail to ensure maximum adhesion at the perimeter.

The board is now ready for truck mounting. See How to Install Skateboard Trucks for the next step.

Common mistakes

Laying the whole sheet down at once

The most common beginner error. Dropping the full sheet at once traps air across the whole surface, making it nearly impossible to press out. Always peel and apply gradually from center outward.

Not scoring the edge before cutting

Cutting without a scored guide line produces a wavy, uneven trim. The score line takes 30 seconds and makes cutting dramatically easier and cleaner.

Using a dull blade

A dull blade drags and tears grip tape rather than cutting it, leaving ragged edges that peel within weeks. Use a fresh blade. Stanley-style snap-off blades are ideal — snap off a segment to get a fresh edge if the current one is dragging.

Forgetting the bolt holes

Easily fixed any time, but much easier to do right after applying the tape while the deck is in hand. Trying to mount trucks without poking the holes first means pushing bolt threads through adhesive-backed grit, which clogs the hole and makes hardware removal messy.

Applying over a dirty or wet deck

Grip tape adhesive doesn't bond well through dust, wax, or moisture. Edges will start peeling within days. Clean and dry the deck completely before applying.

Applying new grip over old grip

The combined thickness creates an uneven surface that feels wrong underfoot. Remove old tape completely, clean any adhesive residue, and start fresh.

Re-gripping an old board

Re-gripping means removing the old tape before applying new tape. Here's the process:

1. Heat the edges. Use a hair dryer on medium heat, working along one edge of the deck. Heat softens the adhesive and makes the tape peel more cleanly.
2. Peel slowly. Once the edge is warm, peel back the tape at a low angle — close to parallel with the deck surface rather than straight up. Peeling at a steep angle tears the tape into strips; low-angle peeling keeps it in one piece.
3. Remove adhesive residue. Any sticky residue left behind can be removed with isopropyl alcohol (70%+) on a cloth, or with a mild adhesive remover. Avoid soaking the wood — just wipe the surface clean.
4. Dry completely. Wait at least 30 minutes (or longer if the deck got wet) before applying new tape.

If the board has been ridden hard and the wood itself is chipped, compressed, or warped, re-gripping might be a good time to assess whether a new deck is the better call.

Choosing grip tape

Standard grip tape is silicon carbide grit bonded to a polyurethane backing with pressure-sensitive adhesive. The differences between brands are mostly in grit coarseness, backing thickness, and adhesive strength.

Popular brands: Mob (coarse, aggressive), Jessup (slightly finer, easier on shoes), Grizzly (mid-range), Shake Junt (coarse), Vicious (extra coarse, longboard standard). Clear grip tape (Mob Clear, Jessup Clear) lets graphic decks stay visible while still providing grip.

For cruisers and longboards, a coarser grit is actually less important — you're rarely doing technical footwork that requires maximum grip, and your shoes last longer with a finer tape. Standard 80-grit is fine for all-round use.

Grip tape, bolt holes, and hardware

The grip tape layer adds about 1–1.5mm to the deck thickness. This is usually accounted for in standard bolt length recommendations and doesn't affect your hardware selection in practice.

What does affect bolt length is adding riser pads between the truck and deck. If you're building a cruiser setup with large wheels and need risers, remember to account for the riser thickness when selecting bolt length. The grip tape thickness itself is negligible.

Use the Bolt Length Calculator to get an exact bolt recommendation for your deck + riser stack, or see the Hardware Guide for a quick reference table.