Painting shoes - YouLookFab Forum

I'm always seeing shoes I like at thrift stores in colors I don't need plus I have some of those very same shoes in all versions of brown so I wondered if I could just paint them. I did some research online and decided to try it and thought I'd share here.

Test Shoes: Metallic gray leather, worn once.
Paint: Cadmium Yellow Dark, acrylic, artists quality, Golden brand.
Coats: About 6. Next time I'll base coat if I'm going over a dark color.
Cleaning: Wiped with regular alcohol and a cotton ball.
Drying: I allowed paint to get almost dry between coats. It was slightly tacky. I won't wear these until the paint has cured for 2 weeks as this is a slow drying type of acrylic paint.

My only concern is cracking of the paint should I paint in an area on a shoe that bends or creases with movement. I'll test crease this pair in 2 weeks after the paint has cured.

Otherwise I'm very pleased with this experiment and will be changing my boring gold KorkEase next to...orange? turquoise? Hmmmm......

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13 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

Cool! Please keep us posted on the cracking - I've used Tarrago Leather Dye to recolor shoes and bags exactly for the reasons you mentioned. However, acrylic paint would be cheaper if it works well!

teeandcee

Active Member

Rae, I considered using Tarrago as I've read your posts on the subject but my impatience got the best of me. There's a web page somewhere online and the woman uses a Porcelain acrylic paint pen, which I think would be easier than a brush. She said her's haven't cracked and it's been months.

JennyAnne

Please let us know how it works out. I'm always sceptical when I see this kind of thing online. Yours look really nice, though!

christieanne

You can get a sealer for the acrylic paint at craft store. I fear it will crack without a sizer added to paint or a sealer. and also won't be water resistant. DH has used acrylics quite often on cloth and upholstery and prefers the added fabric sizer for best long term wear as the paint gets brittle over time.

I love the way you did that and the color! Keep playing

Anonymous

I just remembered that I once used cheap acrylic craft paint to re-do a pair of off white leather shoes. I had some metallic bronze lying around from a ceiling fan refinishing job (don't ask!) and I just applied it with a sponge. Over time it cracked where the foot flexed, but it was no big deal to touch up. I would do it again if the shoes weren't super-expensive.

I also like the fact that I can physically go to Michael's and look at all the colors in person. I haven't found a local place that carries Tarrago, and that has cost me a mistake or two. I was actually planning to paint the black T-strap sandals that I posted a week or two ago (with craft paint) but I ended up returning them because I knew I couldn't change the color of the black soles, trim and wooden heel.

These shoes turned out great. I can't wait to see what you do next!

Chrizzle

Very cool! What a clever girl you are, teeandcee! As a lifelong member of the Sisterhood of the Fussy Feet, I'm interested in the idea of expanding my shoe wardrobe by inexpensively re-coloring the few styles of shoes I can find that both look good and don't hurt.

Christieanne, thank you for that info on sizing and sealer. You're supposed to seal these paints anyway when you do a painting so I was wondering about that on the shoes.

I'll update in a couple of weeks after I work over the painted area to test for cracking.

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