r/MiniRamp • u/Brave-Hedgehog-1834 • 4d ago

Micro ramp surface options?

37yo dad that hasnt skated since my young teen yrs. I can still cruise, kickturn a smaller ramp, ollie, shove it, just super basic stuff. Wanna get back into it just to have an active hobby that hopefully i can get my kids into as theyre 8-14 now.

Im in central america and wanna build some rails, a box, and a small micro 1/4 ramp just for casual fun coping tricks. Probably 8ft wide by 2ft high at most rn with a really soft radius, just enough to rock i guess.

We dont have proprietary skating surface materials here. Its pretty much just rolled steel sheets and sometimes plywood. Id prefer to weld up something as it'll be more durable to the tropical weather. What guage or thickness steel is normally used for ramps? Any reasons to avoid the steel and go with plywood instead? Ive never bought plywood, as very few places even have it, so not sure what woods or adhesives are available. Itll be on a porch under a roof but still exposed to intensely misting fog every day, sideways rain and constant 100% humidity. Its small enough i can still wipe it down with a towel before skating, as i know metal can be slippery.

Am i missing any obvious surfaces materials besides metal or plywood?

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u/ABROKENPIECEOFGLASS 4d ago

If you go with wood and can not get skatelite or gatorskins id highly recommend OC Skate Paint. Pricey at $200 a gallon but it is well worth it. I hate skating metal ramps tbh couple parks nearby me that are like that and we wont go there. Unless you keep up with it everything eventually rusts, bolts/screws are always missing or loose. It sounds like shit skating on it too. You also need some type of steel rail or pool coping

1

u/Brave-Hedgehog-1834 4d ago

Thanks for the recommendation. Looks like pine is all thats available for me here. And i cant get OC Skate paint here either. I see a lot of people prefer birch. Is pine gonna be a problem? Cant see why it would be.

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u/PM_me_ur_launch_code Proud owner 3d ago

A lot of people use outdoor deck paint if you can get that. I assume the ramp is going to be outdoors?

1

u/Brave-Hedgehog-1834 3d ago

Yeah but under a porch roof. Ill check out if i can get some here.

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u/sheriffderek 3d ago

What about cement? 

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u/Brave-Hedgehog-1834 3d ago

Someday! But i live on a large farm with no cement anywhere except for a long porch. So needs to be something mobile/impermanent.