How to Paint A Skateboard

Alyssa Korecky
Mar 6, 2020
2 min read

This is my process on how I paint skateboard decks. Below I have listed some options of different deck shapes/price ranges.

Less Expensive:

https://www.amazon.com/Moose-Blank-8-25-Skateboard-Natural/dp/B001B52RAO/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=blank+skateboard+deck&qid=1583353813&sr=8-5

More expensive option:

https://www.amazon.com/Bamboo-Skateboards-Blank-Skateboard-Deck/dp/B079Z37LDY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=bamboo+skateboard+deck&qid=1583353778&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFUTk9ZMkhIMU9TSFQmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA2MjEzMTIzMzA5SVJHODQ3SEkzJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2NzU2OTMzQUM2S0w4UFlFSTlPJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Old School:

https://www.amazon.com/Moose-School-Skateboard-Deck-Natural/dp/B003FVFVUU/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=blank+skateboard+deck&qid=1583353813&sr=8-10

The first step when you first get your board is to sand off the clear varnish on the bottom side of the deck. (Not the side you put the grip tape on, unless you want to paint on that side). You can do this by hand, or use a handheld sander (usually much faster).

You will be able to tell when you have sanded all of the varnish off when it doesn’t reflect light. Turn the board a few times to make sure that you have sanded everything off.

The next step is to gesso the board. This is dependent on what you are painting onto it. I mainly use a black acrylic gesso and cover the entire sanded side with it. You can choose a white gesso, or to mix your own color.

Before you apply the gesso, I like to tape off the edges of the board to have a clean edge.

If you want to leave the natural grain of the wood as the background, you can paint right onto the wood.

For this project, I didn't have black gesso with me, so I painted it white first and later applied a black background with the paint.

I usually make a mock up of what I want the board to look like in photoshop and apply a grid onto it. Using a grid allows me to get the image I am painting onto the board with the correct proportions.

Once the sketch is on the board, I start painting. My painting process is similar to how I paint on a regular canvas. You can check out this post to see the process more in depth: https://akorecky1.wixsite.com/madevicious/post/chiaroscuro-painting-process

Here are some process photos from this skatedeck: