Griptape blues

[Terminal]

Not sure if a thread already exists and direct me please if yes. I'm probably going to get kooked into oblivion for this but I seem to have lost the skill of gripping up a board. Every time for the past four or five boards, the grip has either bubbled significantly, and/or lifted along the edges. W.T.F? I've been setting up boards for nearly 30 years and never had a problem, I also ran a kind of skate shop for my local crew in the 90s and would set up boards for others too with never a drama. Is anyone else finding this? Do you sand decks first nowadays or something, did I miss something while on hiatus? MOB grip btw, for all these past five boards. Any advice appreciated.

[SaySo]

Using a wallpaper roller can help.

[BALARGUE]

Mob is pretty stiff and i consider it's one of the worst when gripping a board
Depending on the shape of the board (especially concave of tail and nose) it can be tricky to have clean results

and i noticed variations in behaviour in recent months / years (they probably changed something)
bubbles appearing or lifting after a few hours when the board is not used immediately despite doing it with a lot of care

[FUBAR]

All I know is…don’t use a dull pocket knife because all you can blame a crap grip job is the dull pocket knife.

[beatifk]

I stopped using mob a few years back for this very reason when 3 boards in a row started coming ungripped at the intersection of the toeside concave and nose.

I've been skating and gripping boards for a long long time so I like to think I know what I'm doing.

Since I've cut out mob, I haven't had a single issue.

[vicious cycle]

Is it old "stock" mob? I had a few sheets that where a few  years old on ice. I tryed to grip a board a month ago and faced the same problems. Didn't hold on to the board pretty well. I re griped it with Jessup Ultra and never went back to MOB.

[GBLange]

All I know is…don’t use a dull pocket knife because all you can blame a crap grip job is the dull pocket knife.

yup, very true.

[djoekr]

I also had weird issues like this, but it's always with MOB. Didn't have problems with them in the past, but everytime I use something else nowadays it turns out okay.

[DeadSquidMask]

You’re not alone! I believe griptape quality has declined since Covid. It crinkles and wrinkles and rips easier than ever. Jessup and mob are both affected in my opinion.

I recently tried pepper grip and that went on a lot smoother, it had that slight elasticity that I remembered from the old days of griptape. Only had that one sheet of it but I’d try it again next time. Anyone else have a similar experience?

[rikki]

Agreed on this being especially a MOB issue! I thought I was tripping as well – been gripping boards for 30+ years myself and my last MOB grip job resulted in multiple bubbles / peels / wtf tl;dr.

Glad I'm not the only one. I wonder what happened with MOB?

[Frank]

mob used to be dotted with holes to have the air escape. wonder why all sheets are solid nowadays. its 100% a downgrade.

ive been using jessup for my last few boards and honestly its just as bad.

think i might order a few sheets of pepper to check that out.

[Murge]

I had this same problem with mob. Still had the holes but would always bubble near the kicks. I’d have to re grip or cut a hole with a razor. Used jessup it was fine but I didn’t like how fast it got bald. Tried pepper. I’m a pepper guy now.

[BALARGUE]

MOB sheets are still micro perforated
Jessup sheets aren't

[Frank]

MOB sheets are still micro perforated
Jessup sheets aren't

well i don't see these perforations anymore on the sheets tbh and if they are perforated, it doesn't work. mob has become easily the most bubbly grip for me in recent years and apart from it performing way worse than a few years ago, having to care less about bubbles was the main reason i still bought it. jessup isn't perfect and also creases like fuck, but i have less of a problem putting it on without bubbles. weird. and i also used to grip boards as a job for years, often got complemented on my gripjobs, too, because i was obsessed with machine like clean cuts. maybe my skillz are gone. it seems harder to grip a board clean nowadays, grips just generally feel shittier overall.

[sbr]

MOB has given me similar issues every time I used it with either going on fine and bubbling up after the fact or the edges starting to peel after a day or so. I switched to Jessup Ultra and have had no issues since. Jessup uses a way less rigid film and I think that also allows it to sand down/adhere better when sanding the edges post-application. I honestly don't notice too much of a difference grip feel-wise between the two, but I will say Ultra is way less prone to cut my hands up compared to MOB when I grab my board.

[Ourladyoftheflowers]

I had a sheet of mob come off like a tablecloth doing a wallride in the winter and haven’t looked back. I just get a roll of jessup once a year. Haven’t had any problems, did try pepper and enjoyed it but the jessup rolls are so much cheaper in the long run if you go through decks quickly

[Tom Pearl]

i've found with mob it's best to peel off the back just a lil bit and slowly peel it away while you apply it, don't just lay all on at once. i think the problem is it's just too thick so it tends to crinkle really easy and there's more of a lip for your foot or something to snag on once it's been applied. just make sure you really sand the edges down good after you put it on. 

i used to use nothing but mob but the last deck i set up i used jessup and it went on smooth, no issues at all

[IpathCats]

Use jessup

take off any stickers on the top of the deck, this is a precaution incase you lay the grip a bit crooked and cause it to miss a portion of the deck farther down. This way you can just pull it off and start over before the glue cures and you wont have a spot that wont stick due to the sticker splitting. (more common on wider boards)

Work from one end of the board to the other, patting firmly down the board and keeping the unfinished portion from making full contact with the grip. take your time and patpatpat each section real good before moving to the next.

keep a little nail around to pop any bubbles (there wont be any if you take your time and do it right)

fresh razorblades are nice too, though i've made do without them until recently.

[Terminal]

Yeah thanks all. Nice to know I'm not alone with this and not losing my marbles. No idea if new or old batch MOB but sheets are perforated if that provides any indication. Bought recently from a local shop in Mallorca, popular shop with likely high stock turnover, so I'd guess it's a recent batch based on that. Yeah super sharp knife. I'll change brands next setup but thanks for the roller tip, I'll give that a go next time. 

[slobburnquist]

Pepper grip is the way to go now a days. Perforated, goes down nice n smoove, and I really like the sparkle/look that it has.

[rawbertson.]

I gripped a board recently with MOB and I did one last night with Jessup. I definintely notice the difference but I did not get bubbles in either.  I normally like to use a wheel to roll the grip tape on but I just used my hand and it was fine. i try to keep as much of the griptape in the air as possible and then very slowly press on each piece carefully. with Mob it feels like it is absolutely tearing my hand apart though if i dont use a wheel. that shit is just way too grippy. i have to use super old shoes to skate that stuff for the first month.

if you are using a shitty knife, then just sand it a tiny bit more. I used a very shitty knife last night to do it and i was carving it like a turkey instead of slicing it like you are supposed to, and it still ended up pretty nice. i have a bit of extra grip clinging to the sides but that will just fall off anyway after like 1 session. i was debating going around and cleaning all that up but normally i end up making it worse anyway so just said fuck it.

[spacial_profiling]

Same. Glad there's at least some speculation as to why. One trick that helps is slicing a little slit where those cringles/bubbles/lifts are. Helps for the grip to sit flusher thru those deep dips. I either do that or just keep pressing it with my thumb(annoying).

[TwisT]

Make sure you are storing your grip as well as your store your decks. I've had a few sheets basically went bad. They were stiff and wouldn't bond to the deck completely. Air bubbles wouldn't stick after I poked a hole in it. I sanded the fuck out of the edges and they still flaked. I ended up just ripping it off and doing it with another sheet.

[rocklobster]

Mob just ain't working for me, I don't cut it well and its way too gritty for my liking since I drag and flick off hard for my tricks. Jessup for life.

[backside_frontside]

Use jessup

take off any stickers on the top of the deck, this is a precaution incase you lay the grip a bit crooked and cause it to miss a portion of the deck farther down. This way you can just pull it off and start over before the glue cures and you wont have a spot that wont stick due to the sticker splitting. (more common on wider boards)

Work from one end of the board to the other, patting firmly down the board and keeping the unfinished portion from making full contact with the grip. take your time and patpatpat each section real good before moving to the next.

keep a little nail around to pop any bubbles (there wont be any if you take your time and do it right)

fresh razorblades are nice too, though i've made do without them until recently.

[Fifty8mm]

Two words:
Black Magic.

[Thebird]

I had these same issues with Mob.  Made the switch to Pepper and haven't had a single problem.

[Aquatic Dinosaur]

Two words:
Black Magic.

I second black magic.  I also found that using a tennis ball is a good way to keep the bubbles away

[hiljentaa]

I've had this happen with MOB as well, especially in the winter.

MOB is my preferred grippiness, but its adhesion sucks and it has the tendency to crease on steeper boards.

Jessup Ultra is the closest to MOB grippiness in my experience. Applies well, stays adhered, but can sometimes chip little pieces off around the edges.

Pepper is a dream to apply, but not as grippy as Jessup Ultra or MOB so it is my third favorite.

[frontsideNECKTIE]

Idk, I haven't gripped a board with a whole sheet in so long. I always cut it into large sections and place each piece individually.

Kook me if you want, purists