Skating is fun. Cleaning and maintenance is not.
Like it or not, maintaining the board and moving parts of your skateboard are what are going to allow you skate longer, faster, and safer. And unless your some pro bad-ass, your probably not getting your gear for free.
So today, let’s get into some basic periodic maintenance you should definitely incorporate into your schedule to keep your board, wheels, and trucks clean and mean.
Clean Your Longboard
Although it gets better in time and you’ll be familiar as you use your longboard, we still feel like helping out beginners like you. For that, we’ve made things simpler by giving you just a single tip, which is to clean your longboard. This is the simplest way you can keep your longboard in great shape.
The Things You’ll Need
You’ve read that right. Cleaning your longboard is the simplest yet effective way of making sure your longboard is in its tip-top shape. There are a few things you are going to need:
- Skate Tool
- Cleaning Spirits
- Mineral Detergent
- Hair Dryer
- Needle/Pin
- Dry Cloth
- Small Containers
- Lubricating Oil
- Bearing Cleaning Kit
What To Do?
Here is a step by step guide on how to lean your longboard:
1. Take your longboard apart.
The first things you can remove are the wheels, then you can remove the bearings from the wheels. You can now remove the kingpin before you finally disassemble the baseplate from the deck.
Note: Make sure you carefully disassemble. Use the small containers to keep small parts like spacers, nuts, and bearings.
2. Separate parts by materials.
Segregate the disassembled parts by materials. Separate the rubber from the metals because you’ll be using different cleaning agents for different materials.
3. Clean the bearings.
The cap on the bearings needs to be removed first and you can do this by using a pin or needle. If you have sealed bearings, you can’t open it. You can use your bearing cleaning kit and fill half of the container with the cleaning agent. Place your bearings in the rod that is connected to the cap of the container. Put the cap back and shake it vigorously to remove all the dirt. Rinse and dry the bearings. Then lubricate it with some oil and replace the bearing cap.
Note: A bearing cleaning kit is commercially available but you can create one on your own by recycling an old plastic bottle with a wide lid, washers, bolt, nut, O-ring, and a regular ballpen casing.
4. Clean the rest of the longboard.
It’s pretty easy to clean the rest of the disassembled parts. Use detergent and water to clean the rubber and plastic parts. Dry them up individually. For the baseplate, truck, and deck, you can clean it with a piece of cloth soaked in detergent.
5. Reassemble Your Longboard.
After everything is dry, you can now reassemble your longboard. Make sure you put back everything in place. If your grip tape is peeling, you can glue it back too.
Conclusion:
Cleaning is the simplest way on how you can maintain your longboard. It can take time to disassemble, clean, dry and reassemble but it will be worth it in the end. Beginners and pros alike should regularly clean their longboard to ensure it performs it’s best.
