You may find at some point you wish to remove griptape from a board. There are different reasons for needing to do so. Perhaps you have found an old board you want to preserve and hang on the wall and you’d like to take the tape off before you do so. Or your griptape is old and weathered but your board still has plenty life in it so you want to re-grip it an make the most of it. Whatever your reason it is a fairly straightforward process but can be time consuming. This guide will advise you how to remove griptape as quickly and effectively as possible. Because it is necessary to use a blade and requires a certain amount of strength we recommend this is always done by an adult or with supervision.
It is possible to remove griptape without using a hairdryer but it will take you forever (we know from experience). This is because you will be able to remove pieces by pulling, but without warming the adhesive first it will always tear so you will be pulling off small pieces at a time. Using a heat gun is an alternative to using a hairdryer but we realise most of you won’t have one of these at home. Follow this guide and you will have removed your old griptape and be ready to apply a new sheet in no time.
• Hairdryer
• Razor Blade or thin knife
• Patience
First you will need to remove your trucks and wheels using a skate tool so all you are left with is the deck. The next step is finding an edge at one end to begin pulling the griptape away from the deck. Use a hair dryer to evenly heat up the tape on the nose or tail of your board by holding it close to the tape and evenly covering the area with hot air. Doing this for about 30 seconds will be enough to loosen the adhesive.
Next you need to use a blade to pry up the edges of the griptape until there is enough of it separated to get your fingers under it. This is where you will be pulling from, the ultimate aim is to keep heating as you go along and remove the entire sheet of grip in one piece. Be careful when running the blade along the edge to create your starting point, don’t dig into the deck itself, just get it between the deck and the griptape and peel it back.
Once you have that edge available to pull you will want to heat the whole nose again for thirty seconds and then pull up the grip. Moving along in sections you will be able to take up the tape a few inches at a time. To pull up the grip you can hold the board down with one hand and pull up with the other. Some people like to put the board on the ground and stand on it while peeling up with both hands. Whichever way works best for you is fine, just pull evenly to avoid tearing the tape. Don’t be discouraged if it does rip, all you need to do is repeat this first step along the ripped edge and start again. Even when shooting photos for this guide the tape tore towards the end but continuing was easy.
This is your mission, heat an area for thirty seconds, pull up the tape and repeat. You should find that the tape comes up easily and it is satisfying to feel it peeling away. When you have removed the whole sheet you will be left with your deck as it began it’s journey.
There may be some adhesive residue left which can be scraped away with the blade but as it stands the board will be ready to have another sheet of grip applied to it. Some people choose to lightly sand the top of the board before re-gripping, you can even use the rough edge of your old griptape to do so but it is not essential. If you are planning to grip the deck again and it’s your first time then we advise you watch our guide on How To Grip A Skateboard Deck. Then all you need to do is buy a new sheet of Griptape and begin phase two. We hope this guide has helped you and left you more confident about the task in hand.
It is possible to remove griptape without using a hairdryer but it will take you forever (we know from experience). This is because you will be able to remove pieces by pulling, but without warming the adhesive first it will always tear so you will be pulling off small pieces at a time. Using a heat gun is an alternative to using a hairdryer but we realise most of you won’t have one of these at home. Follow this guide and you will have removed your old griptape and be ready to apply a new sheet in no time.
All you will need to remove griptape:
• Skate tool to remove your trucks and wheels• Hairdryer
• Razor Blade or thin knife
• Patience
First you will need to remove your trucks and wheels using a skate tool so all you are left with is the deck. The next step is finding an edge at one end to begin pulling the griptape away from the deck. Use a hair dryer to evenly heat up the tape on the nose or tail of your board by holding it close to the tape and evenly covering the area with hot air. Doing this for about 30 seconds will be enough to loosen the adhesive.
Next you need to use a blade to pry up the edges of the griptape until there is enough of it separated to get your fingers under it. This is where you will be pulling from, the ultimate aim is to keep heating as you go along and remove the entire sheet of grip in one piece. Be careful when running the blade along the edge to create your starting point, don’t dig into the deck itself, just get it between the deck and the griptape and peel it back.
Once you have that edge available to pull you will want to heat the whole nose again for thirty seconds and then pull up the grip. Moving along in sections you will be able to take up the tape a few inches at a time. To pull up the grip you can hold the board down with one hand and pull up with the other. Some people like to put the board on the ground and stand on it while peeling up with both hands. Whichever way works best for you is fine, just pull evenly to avoid tearing the tape. Don’t be discouraged if it does rip, all you need to do is repeat this first step along the ripped edge and start again. Even when shooting photos for this guide the tape tore towards the end but continuing was easy.
This is your mission, heat an area for thirty seconds, pull up the tape and repeat. You should find that the tape comes up easily and it is satisfying to feel it peeling away. When you have removed the whole sheet you will be left with your deck as it began it’s journey.
There may be some adhesive residue left which can be scraped away with the blade but as it stands the board will be ready to have another sheet of grip applied to it. Some people choose to lightly sand the top of the board before re-gripping, you can even use the rough edge of your old griptape to do so but it is not essential. If you are planning to grip the deck again and it’s your first time then we advise you watch our guide on How To Grip A Skateboard Deck. Then all you need to do is buy a new sheet of Griptape and begin phase two. We hope this guide has helped you and left you more confident about the task in hand.