Custom Abrasion‑Resistant Longboard Tail Guards: A 3D‑Printing Blueprint

Skateboarding is inherently rough—both the rider and the board endure repeated impacts. Longboards and street decks alike develop split edges and a notorious “razor tail” where the kicktails grind hard against pavement, turning soft wood and exposed carbon fiber into sharp, damaging edges. In my own board, the wear was evident in the exposed core and ragged carbon fiber.

Commercial skid plates exist, but they are often bulky, heavy, and ill‑fitted to custom board shapes. A thin Delrin sheet I tried next quickly wore down and broke. What I truly needed was a lightweight, abrasion‑resistant guard that could wrap around the tail—so I turned to the Mark Two workflow and 3D‑printed Kevlar‑infused guards custom‑fit to my longboard.

Step 1: Capture the Tail Shape

Without a digital reference, I traced the tail on printer paper and scanned the drawing. For objects that are hard to trace, a straight‑on photograph can work, but be cautious of foreshortening that skews dimensions.

Step 2: Import into CAD and Scale

Open your preferred CAD tool (Fusion 360, SolidWorks, or similar), import the scanned image, and establish a reference dimension to ensure accurate scaling. This step guarantees the guard will match your board’s bolt pattern and tail contour.

Step 3: Design the Guard

Model a bottom plate that mates with the board’s existing bolt holes, then extrude a protective wall that wraps around the tail’s ends. The wall should be tall enough to absorb head‑on impacts and to prevent the board from scraping directly against the ground.

Step 4: Prepare for Printing

Using the Mark Two software, reinforce the first few layers and the walls with a Kevlar infill. This hybrid structure delivers exceptional abrasion resistance while keeping the part lightweight. The print job then loads in minutes.

Step 5: Install and Ride

Insert threaded inserts into the longboard’s tail bolt holes, secure the guard with machine screws, and you’re ready to test it in the real world.

Results

After repeated kicks against a parking lot curb—simulating weeks of use—the Kevlar‑reinforced guards showed negligible wear. Even after dragging the tail across pavement for several minutes, only minimal cuts appeared. The guards withstood months, if not years, of normal riding. Failure occurred only when the board was deliberately slammed into a curb head‑on; after a handful of such impacts, a corner delaminated. Such extreme scenarios are rare in everyday use, so the guards remain reliable under typical conditions.

This workflow demonstrates how a few simple CAD steps and a Mark Two 3D‑printing setup can produce durable, custom‑fit protection for any high‑wear surface—be it a board, a boat, or personal protective equipment.

Want to experience the resilience firsthand? Order a free sample today from our website!

Download the NoseGuard STL and NoseGuard MFP files to try the design yourself.