Introduction
It’s best to take the initiative to clean your longboard as soon as you see stains start to appear. But do not wait until receiving complaints from others or worse, causing unfortunate accidents to start caring. Because the use of a dirty and rusty longboard not only directly affects our safety during the move.
And even the safety of those around can be affected as well. If you are not familiar with or want to know more about the longboard cleaning process, do not hesitate to join us to find out in the article below.
There are 4 basic steps for you to clean your favorite longboard. These stages do not require us to perform overly complex operations.
- Disassembly of parts
- Clean the plank
- Clean the bearing and wheel part
- Reassemble the parts
Steps to clean a longboard
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Disassembly of parts
The first stage of the cleaning process will be to separate the parts for easier manipulation and cleaning. Although it is a bit confusing, we are allowed to skip this important step.
You can only clean the outside if you don’t disassemble every detail. As for the types of dirt that are deep inside the wheel or bearing, we will certainly not be able to access it.
First of all, we need to use a wrench to remove the nut connecting the wheel hub with the fixed hinge above. Because this part is located below the surface, you will have to turn your board upside down if you want to manipulate it. Of course, we will also do the same with the rest of the wheel.
In some special longboard models, you can also remove the four nuts on the upper hinge and gently shake it so that the wheel shaft falls off by itself. This convenience will help you skip a lot of steps compared to the usual longboard form.
Clean the plank
After separating the wheel hub and hinge from the body, it’s time to move on to the second stage in the cleaning process. Our work in this step is also quite simple. Because all you have to do is mainly scrub both longboard surfaces.
First, you need to wet one side of the board. We think that watering both sides won’t save you as much effort as people think. On the contrary, this also wastes a lot of your water and energy.
A little soap will make the cleaning process much easier and faster. Especially with boards already covered in dirt. However, you should use detergents in moderation. Trust us! Because the consequences of overdoing it will not be small at all.
What we need to do now is just scrubbing hard. If we encounter difficult stains, we use a stiff nylon brush to dislodge them. There is a lot of decoration; just replace the hard brush head with a soft sponge to not affect it. The last step is to wipe the remaining soap and water stains and put the board to dry.
Clean the bearing and wheel part
The third step is also the most complicated in our longboard cleaning process. This time you will have to work more with small details as well as cleaning chemicals. So be prepared before you start.
After separating the ball bearing from the wheel, you will need to remove the additional protective coating that the manufacturer has attached to this part of the shaft. You can use a screwdriver with a sharp tip, a pin, or even a razor blade to remove the guard. But regardless of the tool, you need to be a little gentle.
Now is the right time to put the bearings that have been removed from the protective coating in the appropriate cleaning solvents. A few movements such as gentle shaking will help speed up the cleaning speed of the solution inside.
Once you see the color change of the ball and the rinse, it’s time to separate the two. At this point, we just need to dry more to complete the ball-bearing cleaning process.
Reassemble the parts
So we have almost completed the steps to clean a longboard already. The rest is just lubricating and assembling the details.
A little lubricating grease will be essential to help the bearing part work better. However, too much oil can also cause some bad things to happen. So we need to consider carefully before deciding the amount of oil we need to use.
The assembly process is not too difficult, but it is best to follow the smallest rule to install first to avoid manipulating too much. Install the smallest protective housing on the ball bearings and then install the smaller ball bearings on the wheel. Finally, attach the wheel to the hinge on the board.
Tools needed for the cleaning process
Specialized screw removal tools:
- Wrench
- Parts tray
- Pointed screwdriver or blade for removing small parts
- Types of brushes with suitable softness
- Cleaning solvents
- Detergent container or container
- Grease for lubrication
Tools to clean the longboard
Professional skateboard cleaners will be of great help to us in the longboard cleaning process. However, you can also create your quality kit instead of having to buy it outside.
Tool preparation is also a very important step if you want to remove stains on your board. Often people choose the most convenient way to buy cleaning kits available in the market. Because inside those equipment sets will contain all the necessary tools for the cleaning process of skateboards.
Though we can’t deny the convenience of ready-made toiletry sets, you will still create a quality toolbox to use. The surprise here is that the necessary tools are extremely easy to find, not as difficult as we imagine. Here is a list of essential items for the cleaning process that you should refer to.
A few tips for maintenance after cleaning parts
Longboard Deck Preservation
There can be serious damage to a skateboard, from direct sunlight to rain or mud and even dirt. Therefore, limiting exposure to hazardous agents from the environment is the most important thing in preserving Longboard Deck.
Do not let the board dry on its own after getting wet, and you should instead use a dry cloth to clean and dry the product in a dry place. In the case of mud and dirt, we just need to do the same thing.
You should also choose a dry and sheltered corner of the house to preserve the Longboard instead of throwing it around.
Bearing part maintenance
Checking and changing the oil regularly is the most effective way to preserve the bearing part. A quality ball bearing with perfect smoothness will help your board run much more smoothly.
In addition, the use of a protective sheet of appropriate thickness also contributes significantly to ensuring the operation of this part.
Longboard maintenance
Wheel maintenance
To limit wear on the wheels, you should choose less rough surfaces to slide on instead of plunging into sharp rocky roads. Besides, limiting the force on the board also helps the wheel to bear less load. Therefore it could increase the life of this part.
After a week, you should tighten the screws and manually adjust the position of the wheels to avoid wheel deviation. If you ignore it, in the long run, this phenomenon will make our skateboards unable to slide vertically anymore.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. What solvents can be used to clean bearings?
Strong cleaning solvents such as Acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and mineral spirits will be the best choice for removing bearing stains.
There are 3 solvents that we think are the easiest to find and use for bearing cleaning. These substances are Acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and mineral spirits, respectively.
There are also many types of solvents suitable for this job that we can refer to on the internet. But note that do not use water-based cleaners if you do not want to throw away your precious bearing.
2. How long does it take to dry the board?
Depends on the type of material your board is made of. But in our opinion, the best time is 3 hours.
We will need about 3 hours in medium sunny conditions for excess water in the cleaning process to evaporate. Depending on what your board is made of, the time it takes to dry after cleaning will be less or more than the average we recommend.
3. What if the bolts holding the parts have rusted?
There are two main ways, and one is to use an anti-rust solution to remove the rust. The other way is to put the screwdriver inserted to form a lever.
The fact that you do not clean the board for a long time will create conditions for the appearance of rust. And it would be bad if the rust was right in the necessary screws.
There are two most common ways to handle this situation. One is to use anti-rust solutions to remove plaque. Then use a screwdriver to open as usual. If you don’t have an anti-rust agent available, you can also create a lever to push the screw out. We just need to put the screwdriver on and use the hammer to knock it off gently.
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Conclusion
Through this article, we hope you have a better understanding of the process of cleaning longboard skateboards. If you love your board, remember to regularly clean and maintain it in the best condition.
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