Painting Your Skateboard 101

This little guide will show you how to paint your skateboard with some pro results. I documented myself painting a skateboard 3-4 years ago (bad camera), but you can see what's happening to get an idea of what to do. I hope you learn from this, comment if you like it.

Step 1 Prep

Step one is basic prep. First, you wanna remove the trucks/wheels from the board. This is mandatory, because painting these on the board never works out the way you think it would. If you wanna paint your trucks, it's best to remove them from the board. But if you are just painting the board, remove them anyway.

Sand the board (when I took the photos, I did not sand it, so I do not have any photos for this). This will help the paint stick to the board, and if your board is chrome/shiny like mine was, it's a must. You normally use 400 grit sandpaper for this. Sand the paint/design/chrome off, and your good to go.

When your finished, wash the board with some soap/water, or even better, grease/wax remover. This will remove any grease or oil on the board. When the board is clean and dried, move on to step 2.

Comments

[rbennett6]

Am i able to paint it with art paint, after say i spray it white
or can i use art paint straight onto a blank deck?

[CraigSnedeker]

You should be able to, yeah. Give it a clear coat afterwards to protect it ;)

[rbennett6]

cheers man

[mberg]

Can I use 100 grit because that's all I got

[CraigSnedeker]

That will work to get the factory paint off, yes. You basically want to get the "shininess" off, because paint doesn't stick to shinny surfaces.

[mberg]

(removed by author or community request)

[CraigSnedeker]

Hey, thanks for commenting.

1 Walmart, Kmart, local hardware store, pretty much anywhere.

2 Yes, this is 100% ok! :) Just make sure you press down on the edges really good so paint doesn't leak under them. Though, if you use nice, *light* coats of paint, this should be no problem.

3 Yes, it might.

[mberg]

Thanks

[mberg]

And a another thing. Would my primer color be gray if I want to paint it blue?

[CraigSnedeker]

Yep! They actually make three colored primers (maybe more), gray, dark gray, and brown. The can will say "PRIMER" though.

[kid007la]

DO NOT...i repeat DO NOT paint your skateboard. I know you might get sick of the design or might want something new but don't paint it. The skateboard manufacturers put a special clear coat on top of the paint which gives the board slide. This is necessary for any board, tail, or nose slides. Sanding and painting this will ruin it and give you too much grip.

[CraigSnedeker]

I could never grind, even if my life depended on if. Haha

[kid007la]

maybe, but you never know. if you keep practicing there's not telling what you can accomplish

[CraigSnedeker]

lol I stopped skateboarding years ago.. kept breaking my board

[ilpug]

kid007la, Ive painted several boards and come across this problem. the solution is simple. make a coating on the board with surfboard wax. i used SexWax but it would probably work with any kind. just rub the bar on the board, and smothe the coating out with a heat gun. do this several times. just don't let the heat gun damage the paint.

[caco caco]

coooooooooooooooooooooooooooolll

[CraigSnedeker]

Lol :)

[bigredlevy]

you should try wet sanding the clear coats.

get 380 grit wet and dry paper, dip in water, then sand the board lightly, LIGHTLY!!! it gets rid of the 'orange peel' surface finish. the surface will go dull, but don't worry. whatever you do, DON'T go through the clear to the paint underneath, you will have to re-coat it.

go up a few more grit #'s with the wet and dry, then do the same with a piece of fine steel wool.
then use car polish to buff it back to a shine. it will come up awesome.

[CraigSnedeker]

Sounds cool :D 

[berky93]

Step 6:

Wait a week or so until the paint wears off, and put another cool design on it!

Lather, rinse, repeat.