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| Here's a photo of a pair of boots I refurbished with a little spray paint! What do you think? |
What you need:
- Pair of shoes
- Pretty much any type of fabric with work, including leather, which I will later explain how to deal with. Spray paints works very well on canvas. Suede will usually not hold the color real well and will turn out a little darker than expected, but it can still be done.
- Spray Paint
- I purchased mine at Home Depot for about $3.50 per color. There are a variety of different finishes the paint can have. Matte finish will give no shine, while any type of gloss will give you a shine.
- Warning: In most states, kids under 17 or 18 can not buy spray paint, so you may need an adult to purchase it for you. I know I bought spray paint at Wal-Mart when I was 17.
- Sand Paper
- Only if you are working with a leather or vinyl shoe
- Masking Tape
- Preferably blue or green painters tape
- I bought a roll for only a $1 at the dollar store
- Plastic bags or trash bags
How To Do It:
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| Here's what they looked like before. |
- If you have a leather or fake leather shoe, use the sand paper to rub down the finish on the shoes. This will allow the spray paint to better adhere to the surface and prevent rubbing off of the color.
- Use masking tape and plastic bags to prevent areas from being painted. Use a plastic bag on the inside of the shoe so the inside doesn't get painted. Otherwise, the paint will rub off on your foot. Any areas that you don't want to paint should be covered. I would recommend masking off the rubber bottom of the shoe also. If you want to get a little more crazy, try making stripes with the tape or different designs. Make sure to tape off any lace holes, so paint doesn't go through them.
- Lightly coat the shoes with the paint. For those of you who have never spray painted before, you want to do it outside, or in a well ventilated area. Stand about 3 feet back from the shoes. Press gradually down on the trigger until you get a steady mist of paint. Make small back and forth motions as you go QUICKLY around the shoe. Don't stay in one area for a long time, otherwise it will cause dripping.
- Wait to dry. If you want to do multiple colors like how mine I did black and silver, wait for one color to dry before adding the second color. For mine, I only did a light coat of silver in different areas for more of a faded effect.
- Remove masking tape.
- Wait a couple days for paint to set. Do not wear them right away, the paint smells terrible for a couple days, but if you leave them in a well ventilated area, the smell will leave in a couple days.
