Author Topic: Fixing up a skated curb  (Read 1434 times)

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SwitchBigspinflipBoneless

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Fixing up a skated curb
« on: August 09, 2022, 08:27:01 AM »
Yo,  so in my area there's a manny pad/ curb spot that's been sessioned for a while by locals,  but it's pretty jank.  Was yellow painted but  pretty flaked,  waxed up to shit but doesn't really grind,  and has gaps in between that someone has (not very successfully)  tried to bondo.

I think if a proper effort to fix it was made it would be really sick, as in the winter it's basically the only dry spot and everyone skates it.

Any advice on fixing it up?  Seen loads about clear coat,  steel stick,  rub brick and so on but only seems to apply for starting new curbs not pre skated ones.

Cheers!

biaherl

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2022, 03:58:34 PM »
What part of the world are you in and do you have any photos of the spot

Sometimes divots are so bad that you have to put a screw in it and pack your mud mixture around the screw. After you've done all the proper prep work that is

SwitchBigspinflipBoneless

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2022, 02:43:12 AM »
I'm in the UK.  Its in the middle of a covered lit carpark,  which makes it pretty rare here. 

There are a couple of others in the carpark but location wise this one is the best. Will try and get some photos today.

Screws and mud mixture??  I was thinking £7 steel stick and shove it in the gaps after getting the old bondo out

rawbertson.

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2022, 06:50:11 AM »
I'm in the UK.  Its in the middle of a covered lit carpark,  which makes it pretty rare here. 

There are a couple of others in the carpark but location wise this one is the best. Will try and get some photos today.

Screws and mud mixture??  I was thinking £7 steel stick and shove it in the gaps after getting the old bondo out

@LebowskisRug made a really nice post about this:

https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=103086.270

For people asking about how to repair chunky curbs it's not that hard, but definitely time consuming. Here's how I did it:

1. Scrape all the wax off. First with a paint scraper then with a scouring pad with acetone. All of it has to come off.
2. Optional and expensive step but pour concrete densifier on it. This fills air voids and hardens the concrete.
3. Get an angle grinder and a Diamond polishing wheel. They're usually gold and they sell them on Amazon. Make sure it's rated for high RPM.
4. Go along the curb and start hand grinding it and make sure to create a rounded profile. You can grind and polish the rocks.
5. Optional. Fill any large voids with JB Weld Steel Stick.
6. Optional but recommends. Get a hand drill and some 50-100 grit cement polishing pads and start getting it smooth and polished. Way better than a brick IMO but a brick will suffice. Bonus points if you can wet sand.
7. Put some Glaze N Seal over it.
8. 1-3 coats of a thick exterior clear.
9. Optional, but use a fine sanding sponge and wet sand it.
10. Done

I made myself a concrete parking block and I didn't vibrate it enough and it came out like Swiss Cheese. By using some Sika to patch the holes and the steps above I actually don't even need to wax the thing and it slides extremely well.
ONTARIO CANADA

rawbertson.

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2022, 07:11:14 AM »
I fixed chunks just using the Sika and it worked pretty well but it isnt perfect. i will probably need to do a 2nd layer. But it was never waxed in the first place. It is kind of hard to get perfectly smooth in line with the curb.

i think for sure you need to scrape the wax off as best you can as he said in the beginning but i dont think you necessarily need an angle grinder. a rub brick will do. you just gotta try and make it as even as you can. i would put the Sika in first to fill the cracks because you will probably need to sand that down too. next time i do the sika i think i am going to go a bit extra and then try to just sand it down a bit at the end, then lacquer the entire thing.
ONTARIO CANADA

LebowskisRug

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2022, 11:28:04 AM »
How big are the cracks? The Steel Stick works really well too.

SwitchBigspinflipBoneless

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2022, 04:31:45 AM »
Yo thanks  for all the above,  missed that guide to fixing one up.

Pics below,  it's definitely worse than what I had in my head when skating it.  It still slides noses and grinds a bit but would be great to fix up.

https://imgur.com/a/JrVYtmE



Plan9Customs

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2022, 05:42:47 PM »
Yo thanks  for all the above,  missed that guide to fixing one up.

Pics below,  it's definitely worse than what I had in my head when skating it.  It still slides noses and grinds a bit but would be great to fix up.

https://imgur.com/a/JrVYtmE
Just curious if you know how long that curbs been skated?

layzieyez

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2022, 06:56:54 PM »
How high is that?

Ray C. Usery

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2022, 08:53:37 PM »


Looks good to me but you guys clearly aren't using enough wax. Check the technique at 1:07 in this horrible video I made 10 years ago

https://vimeo.com/42018272

SwitchBigspinflipBoneless

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2022, 01:03:11 AM »
Expand Quote
Yo thanks  for all the above,  missed that guide to fixing one up.

Pics below,  it's definitely worse than what I had in my head when skating it.  It still slides noses and grinds a bit but would be great to fix up.

https://imgur.com/a/JrVYtmE
[close]
Just curious if you know how long that curbs been skated?

 Easily 5+ years,  could be closer to 10.

How high is that?

 its about 4 inches

Expand Quote

[close]

Looks good to me but you guys clearly aren't using enough wax. Check the technique at 1:07 in this horrible video I made 10 years ago

https://vimeo.com/42018272

that brick of wax is insane haha.  People use it for a manny pad as well so can't go crazy with wax on the top

layzieyez

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2022, 08:59:20 AM »
Yeah, just keep at it with your trucks and wax. Seen dudes slappy bigger cracks on purpose.

SwitchBigspinflipBoneless

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #12 on: August 13, 2022, 09:34:53 AM »
Okay cool.  I was eyeing up some clear lacquer in B&Q,  so you think it's worth slapping a can on?

Ride it to dust

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #13 on: August 13, 2022, 12:09:11 PM »
I use this one from toolstation mate-

https://www.toolstation.com/industrial-spray-lacquer-500ml/p44132

Works great, dries in bout 20 mins per coat and bit cheaper than the plastikote alternative they sell

Ride it to dust

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #14 on: August 13, 2022, 12:13:05 PM »
Oh, and if the cracks are dry/dusty in between and you want to use the epoxy putty before lacquer, try a tiny drop of pva glue beforehand. Helps the epoxy bond better to the concrete

manysnakes

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #15 on: August 14, 2022, 07:55:16 AM »
Honestly that curb looks fun as hell to skate. I find that looks can be deceiving, too. A lot of times the most chipped-up curb can actually slide better than a freshy because of the countless layers of aluminum and wax embedded deeply into the concrete. There are two curbs in particular I skate that are this way - to look at them, you might thing that there's no way one could skate them, but when you actually come with some speed, you can fucking haul ass all the way through. And of course these are the most fun curbs to skate since they're provide the best tactile sensation of grinding.
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SwitchBigspinflipBoneless

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2022, 09:21:30 AM »
Right so this week I'm gonna fix it up.

Going to sweep it,  steel stick it,  rub brick,  sweep,  lacquer then wax the shit out of it when dry.

Any advice or recs are appreciated!

Steely Daniel

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #17 on: August 16, 2022, 03:51:05 AM »
Your curb looks similar to the lip of the quarterpipe at my local park.  It spans the whole length of one side of the park but has no coping except for this sad excuse for an "extension" that's about 4 inches high and has this weird rounded coping that doesn't even protrude at all. Basically, a quarter of a circle that's flush against a curb basically. It's pretty sketchy to lock into and I'd much rather have the feeling of grinding on concrete anyway...

I could do crappy little scratching frontside grinds but could never actually push a real grind through it. It slides fine enough for tailslides but I'm wondering what would be the least invasive method I could do to try and get it actually grinding. It's a 23+ year-old weathered park but a lot of people still skate there so I don't want to make too drastic of changes.

I can't imagine just cleaning the lip and lacquering it would be enough though would it? It doesn't have huge chips and cracks in it but it does look very crusty and gnarly with the aggregate sticking through and all that.

I'm thinking; clean a test spot, if any large chunks or divots are missing then fill with epoxy putty, light-moderate rub bricking after epoxy cures then spray lacquer on it.

Any recommendations? Or would that be a safe bet to try?

Ray C. Usery

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #18 on: August 17, 2022, 09:44:14 PM »
Your curb looks similar to the lip of the quarterpipe at my local park.  It spans the whole length of one side of the park but has no coping except for this sad excuse for an "extension" that's about 4 inches high and has this weird rounded coping that doesn't even protrude at all. Basically, a quarter of a circle that's flush against a curb basically. It's pretty sketchy to lock into and I'd much rather have the feeling of grinding on concrete anyway...

I could do crappy little scratching frontside grinds but could never actually push a real grind through it. It slides fine enough for tailslides but I'm wondering what would be the least invasive method I could do to try and get it actually grinding. It's a 23+ year-old weathered park but a lot of people still skate there so I don't want to make too drastic of changes.

I can't imagine just cleaning the lip and lacquering it would be enough though would it? It doesn't have huge chips and cracks in it but it does look very crusty and gnarly with the aggregate sticking through and all that.

I'm thinking; clean a test spot, if any large chunks or divots are missing then fill with epoxy putty, light-moderate rub bricking after epoxy cures then spray lacquer on it.

Any recommendations? Or would that be a safe bet to try?

If you don't post pictures it doesn't exist

Roger__Kook

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #19 on: August 18, 2022, 08:23:53 AM »
Yo thanks  for all the above,  missed that guide to fixing one up.

Pics below,  it's definitely worse than what I had in my head when skating it.  It still slides noses and grinds a bit but would be great to fix up.

https://imgur.com/a/JrVYtmE
Is that Farnborough?! If so that curb's been skated for well over 20 years, probably longer.

dr.prestige

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #20 on: August 18, 2022, 11:29:07 AM »
Go faster and use your pent up anger and frustration when you slappy, it should grind better that way

Op, you ok man? Being real here, you doin alright?

LebowskisRug

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #21 on: August 18, 2022, 12:41:40 PM »
Get an angle grinder with a masonry wheel and grind down the larger chunks on the first pass then use concrete polishing wheel on it to get it fairly round and even. This gets it less chunky. From there you could use the diamond wheel+power drill method I mentioned above to get it smoother.

Steely Daniel

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #22 on: August 18, 2022, 01:33:40 PM »
Expand Quote
Your curb looks similar to the lip of the quarterpipe at my local park.  It spans the whole length of one side of the park but has no coping except for this sad excuse for an "extension" that's about 4 inches high and has this weird rounded coping that doesn't even protrude at all. Basically, a quarter of a circle that's flush against a curb basically. It's pretty sketchy to lock into and I'd much rather have the feeling of grinding on concrete anyway...

I could do crappy little scratching frontside grinds but could never actually push a real grind through it. It slides fine enough for tailslides but I'm wondering what would be the least invasive method I could do to try and get it actually grinding. It's a 23+ year-old weathered park but a lot of people still skate there so I don't want to make too drastic of changes.

I can't imagine just cleaning the lip and lacquering it would be enough though would it? It doesn't have huge chips and cracks in it but it does look very crusty and gnarly with the aggregate sticking through and all that.

I'm thinking; clean a test spot, if any large chunks or divots are missing then fill with epoxy putty, light-moderate rub bricking after epoxy cures then spray lacquer on it.

Any recommendations? Or would that be a safe bet to try?
[close]

If you don't post pictures it doesn't exist

Okay I will document the crust today and seek further advice. Thank you fine sir

SwitchBigspinflipBoneless

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #23 on: August 20, 2022, 03:00:02 PM »
Expand Quote
Yo thanks  for all the above,  missed that guide to fixing one up.

Pics below,  it's definitely worse than what I had in my head when skating it.  It still slides noses and grinds a bit but would be great to fix up.

https://imgur.com/a/JrVYtmE
[close]
Is that Farnborough?! If so that curb's been skated for well over 20 years, probably longer.

Yeah man!  That's mad,  never thought it was that old a spot

Roger__Kook

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Re: Fixing up a skated curb
« Reply #24 on: August 22, 2022, 02:01:13 AM »
Quote
Yeah man!  That's mad,  never thought it was that old a spot
It appears in this 2003 shop video at 11:58, and it was already quite well worn by then.
This was from local skateshop Swivel, which used to be in Queensmead BITD.
http://vimeo.com/331739828