How To: Custom griptape design

Marco Kada shows you how to make your skateboard deck stand out

A plain black griptape bores you, but the printed ones from the various skateboarding brands aren’t individual enough for your taste? Marco Kada has the same opinion, that’s why he personalizes all his decks with a custom griptape design! Don’t worry, it’s easier than it sounds, and we’ll show you step by step how you can do it yourself.

Author: Till / 13.07.17

What you need:

Scissors
Sharp knife, i.e. a box cutter
Optional: Sticker for the top of your deck
Griptape of your choice, Marco usually uses plain black griptape

1. Step: First, think about how you want your griptape to look and whether you want the top of your deck or stickers to shine through.

2. Step: Cut your griptape with the scissors as you like. If you want a fancy cut, you can draw it on first with a pencil, and mirror the design if you draw it on the backside of the grip.

TIP: with your design you can clearly show where nose and tail of your deck are!
Marco Kada

Plan your individual design & cut the griptape accordingly

3. Step: If you want, place stickers on your deck where you cut the grip and want them to shine through

4. Step: Stick the pieced griptape carefully to your deck without creating bubbles. Make sure it overlaps on the sides (unless you are doing a „crooked“ one as Marco does)

Put stickers on your deck & stick the pieced griptape to your deck without creating bubbles

5. Step: Sand the overlapping griptape as usual. For example, us the back of a skateboard tool, a screwdriver, or like Marco the back of your scissors.

6. Step: With a sharp knife (i.e. box cutter – Marco’s tool in Cyprus was not the best for the job ;) ), cut the griptape on your deck’s edge.

Sand the griptape & cut it out with a sharp knife

7. Step: Do not throw away the cut-off pieces. You might need them later, depending on the design you chose.

8. Step: Your personal griptape design is ready. Go out and skate :)