Painting Leather & Synthetic Shoes

Painting your shoes is definitely a good way to revamp an old or second hand pair or shoes. Unlike dyes, paint remains only on the surface of the shoe. This means you can easily strip and repaint your shoes for a new season.

We recommend Waproo Colour Change, it is a quality paint that provides a large range of colours to choose from and they are all intermixable. It's important to also use a Stripper (for leather) or a Preparer (for synthetics) to prepare the shoes. Always strip and paint in a well ventilated place and away from carpets.

Follow the steps below;

Step one: Preparation

The more time you spend preparing your shoes the better the results will be. It’s important that when stripping try to take the shine off the leather, this will help the paint bind better to the leather.

• To ensure a smooth painting surface, stuff paper in your shoes or place them on a shoe tree.
• You may want to tape down any areas with masking tape that aren’t being painted. Ie sole edges
• Use a cloth and wet with stripper. Rub vigorously over leather to remove dirt, polish or oils. For synthetics, preparer should be rubbed lightly over shoe. To get into the more difficult areas (ie between the upper and the sole) you can use an old toothbrush dipped in stripper.

Step two: Painting your shoes

• Apply paint lightly with long even strokes. It's ok to still see the original colour through this coat. Thin coats of paint are more durable than one thick coat.
• Allow to dry for at least 1 - 2 hours. Each time you apply paint to your shoes make sure that they are completely dry before applying next coat.
• Apply a second coat. If needed a third coat can be applied.

Step three: Polishing

• Finishes to a high shine. You may use a polish to freshen, but do not buff vigorously.

Note: Shoes with heavy stiching can be tricky to paint around.
 

Blog by Maryann

7 April 2008,

The first pair I painted was for my sister who bought a second hand pair of white adidas shoes for $4 at an op shop - they were in ok condition but were quite scuffed in the front and back.

To set myself up I bought some stripper and white paint and found an old rag and paper. And here's what I did .......

Firstly using my rag, I rubbed the shoe all over with stripper. It didn’t take all the marks off the shoes, but I noticed it provided me with a better surface to paint on. This was really quick - took 2 minutes.

Then I got started with the painting. Initially it took me a little while to get the knack of applying the paint. In my first go I had too much paint on my brush and the first layer was too thick.

So try and make the first coat of paint really thin (don’t worry if the paint seems patchy - you can build up the paint on the 2nd or 3rd layer if needed) – if its too thick there’s a danger of drip marks or uneven surface.

My next try, I used some scrap paper to paint on before appying to the shoe. This helped take excess paint of the brush and get the feel of how much paint was on the brush.

For these shoes I didn’t tape down any areas. When I found that I painted over edges, I just used my rag with a bit of stripper to wipe it off. I also didn’t need to stuff them with paper or a shoe tree as the leather surface was pretty firm.

Once I did my first coat I left the shoe to dry for an hour. My second coat I found much easier and quicker to do. The second coat you can afford to use a bit more paint. I was a bit worried about the brush strokes being visible on the surface of the shoe. However they seemed to be absorbed once the paint dried.

I did notice that if I labored over painting a section (painting over the same area a couple of times) – the paint tends to dry and brush strokes are more prominent. So try and keep your strokes long and consistent.

Make sure you are in a ventilated room as the stripper is really strong – like nail polish remover (but stronger). The Coxy Paint has a paint brush in the lid – this is great as it meant no messing around with washing the paint brush etc.

I recommend have a go at this – but for your first go try on a older pair of shoes to practice. Overall, it was a fun job and I was really pleased with the results. I also placed new laces and insoles in the shoes - which really made them look brand new!

Cheers,

Maryann