Can you sand down a skateboard?

Answer 1

Absolutely yes. The difference is that griptape comes with an adhesive backing making it easier to apply, but with sand paper you can buy spray-on adhesive and that should work just as well. Also sand paper can be significantly cheaper and you can buy it in different levels of coarseness.

A minus to sand paper is that some people claim it tears easier and the coarseness wears away a little faster