+ Restoration, Reproductions and Art Boards

1. To bring back into existence or use; reestablish
2. To bring back to an original condition; See Synonyms at revive.

Complete Restoration by Matt "Jedi" DeAngelis

Brand New	Used and Abused	Mid-Process (filler applied)	Complete Restoration

I can hear it now..."Well, thanks AoS for the vocalbulary lesson, but what does this have to do with skateboard collecting?". Well, you might want to sit down for this as it may come as quite a surprise.......There are actually people out there who take great pride and find great personal enjoyment in taking old, beat-to-hell skateboards and returning them to all their splendor....I

Seriously though, just as some folks take rusted out, old cars and turn them into the gems they once were, or touch-up mildewed, water stained paintings long forgotten in some museum basement, there are a good many folks who find the same satisfaction in restoring skateboard decks. After all, they are merely "paintings" on a wooden plank, right? Some of the works I have seen would amaze you...if the person did not let on that the deck had been restored, the deck would pass for brand new (thank God there are some ethical people out there!).

We here at AoS created this section as means of passing on some of the knowledge and experience that some of these people want to share. Trust me, a large part of restoration is the ol' "trial and error" method... try something and see what works. So it helps if others have already tried before and can report on their experience. Additionally, we also wanted to create a place for these people to show-off their hard work as well. To use the car analogy, what is the point of doing it if you can't show it off to other people a little bit! (Do not take this wrong...the personal satisfaction is the main motivator....but don't deny that a few "ooo's and ahh's" from other people isn't nice to hear as well.)

We will also try to cover the fine art of "reproductions". There is, of course, a huge controversy around this kind of work, but keep in mind that as long as the "artist/craftsman" fully discloses that their work is in fact a reproduction, then they are doing their part to be ethical. The *real* controversy begins when a reproduction leaves the creator's hands and ends up with someone who may not be as trustworthy and honest. That in itself is far beyond the scope of what we will cover here however. Finally, we will also look of folks who create entire designs or works of art as one of a kind paintings on decks. It should go without saying that Wes Humpston was the pioneer and remains the true master of this kind of work, but their are some talented others out there as well.

To take a deck that has been completely skated, graphics all but gone, dents and dings, griptape, etc. and restore it can take upwards of 6 months. Some of you may wish to take on a project like this, and we hope that our step-by-step section can help guide your way in addition to help from those listed in the resources section. The large majority of you will probably use the tricks and tips section for help on the basics....removing old stickers, touching up scuffs, removing old griptape, etc. However you use this information, we at Art of Skateboarding just want to say thanks for making the effort to give an old deck a second chance at life. =)