The other day, I found a broken, dirty longboard in the snow next to a trash can. I didn’t have a board yet but had been thinking about getting one, so this was the perfect opportunity to refurbish a board instead of buying one, a good excuse ;-).
Although the wood wasn’t in great shape, I thought drying it, fixing the cracks, repainting it, and adding new grip tape would make it rideable again. I was planning to make some artwork on the bottom of the board, but later decided not to, since it would just get damaged while riding anyway.
I started by removing all the paint and grip tape from the board. That wasn’t a problem, as it was almost already coming off. After that, I poured some strong, water-resistant wood glue into the cracks on the sides and clamped them down overnight.
For the grip tape, I thought it would be fun to make a camouflage pattern on top. You stick it on, grind the edge of the board, and then you can easily cut off the excess with a Stanley knife.
I kept the wheels and the trucks, but I replaced the bearings, screws, and bushings with a matching set. Luckily, all those sizes are universal, so I could just choose a set without worrying too much.
The board rides fine now. Later on, I’m planning to put some bigger wheels on it. Since there are slight cutouts near the trucks on the bottom side, it should be able to fit them, even when leaning hard.
