How to Clean a Longboard

Whether you prefer to surf or skateboard at your community skate park, longboard-style equipment has become a part of both surf and skate culture. To enjoy surfing and skateboarding longer keep your equipment maintained and clean. Skateboard bearings need regular lubrication and cleaning to keep rotating correctly. Skateboarding on dirty or wet bearings can quickly destroy them. For improved grip on surfboards remove the old wax before applying new wax.

Things You'll Need

  • Skate tool
  • Small knife
  • Lint-free towels or cloths
  • Paper clip
  • Eye protection
  • Rubber gloves
  • Metal jar
  • Cleaning solvent
  • Can of compressed air
  • Bearing lubricant
  • Wax comb
  • White spirit
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Instructions

  1. Skateboard Maintenance

    • 1

      Place your skate tool over the bearings like a socket wrench and turn the tool to the left to loosen the bearings enough to remove them from the skateboard wheel.

    • 2

      Take a small knife and gently pry up the rubber shield. Be careful not to bend or cut the rubber shield when removing this piece.

    • 3

      Wipe the rubber shields down with warm water and dry with a lint-free cloth. Set the rubber shields aside.

    • 4

      Pick up the metal bearings and remove the cage. Straighten the paper clip and place it between the ball seats to detach the retainer.

    • 5

      Push the retainer out gently with your paper clip. Repeat these steps with all of the bearings.

    • 6

      Put on eye protection and rubber gloves. Place bearings in a metal jar and put in the cleaning solvent. Shaking the jar gently helps to remove the debris and further clean the bearings. Replace the dirty solution with clean solution until when you shake the solvent you see no change in color.

    • 7

      Dry the bearings with the can of compressed air. Keep the eye protection on so that solvents do not get in your eyes during the drying process.

    • 8

      Snap the cage back into the bearings. The pieces should fit together easily. Do not force them together because it risks damaging the bearings. Do not put the rubber shields back on the bearings yet.

    • 9

      Squirt bearing lubricant inside your bearings. Only dispense two drops per bearing for optimum performance.

    • 10

      Push the rubber shields back down into the bearings. The shields should slide in easily. Press down on the shields with the small knife to ensure the shields are flush with the bearings.

    • 11

      Spin the bearings to evenly distribute the lubrication after installing the rubber shields.

    • 12

      Place the bearings inside the skateboard wheel. Turn the skate tool right to tighten the bearings into the wheel.

    Surfboard Maintenance

    • 13

      Draw a crisscrossing pattern with the wax comb over the old wax to restore some of the lost grip. Scrape all of the old wax off with the wax comb if it needs to be replaced.

    • 14

      Soak a cloth with white spirit and rub the remaining wax off of the board.

    • 15

      Wipe the white spirit off of the board with a cloth and some warm, soapy water.

    • 16

      Dry the board with a towel or cloth.