How To Paint Shoe Sole – Learn From Professionals:
Painting shoe soles yourself will enable you to add your personal texture to the shoe. The process is simple but needs extra care while doing the job. This is the best way to add your liking and taste. To make sure you get the job done carefully, follow these steps, and start painting like a pro.
First, clean the sole and then choose paint you think will be best for the sole. Applying several coats will help you get the right color. In the end-use a sealant as an extra layer of protection; it will make sure that paint doesn’t get ruined when you wear your shoes.
Before you start painting shoe sole to add your style and flair to the shoe sole, why not customize the whole shoe online on this website FreakyShoes.com, to your liking, here you can customize your shoes online. You can order any style that you want to wear. Design your own shoes online on our website, and leave the rest to us. We will take care of the high-quality design, and then your favorite shoes will be shipped to you in no time.
If you are finished designing your custom shoe on our website, then let’s start painting your shoe sole.
How To Paint Shoe Sole
STEP 1:
Before we start painting, we need to make sure that soles are prepared to get paint. We will prepare the shoe sole, and then we will move to the next step.
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Clean Your Shoes
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Tap Off the Edge
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Prime The Soles
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Wait For Primer To Dry
Clean Your Shoes
Before we start painting shoe sole, make sure the shoes are spotless and are ready to get paint. Don’t even leave a little area unclean. Cleaning will help paint to dry effectively and stay on the sole for a long time.
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Use Rubbing Alcohol to clean the shoe sole
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Let it dry
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It will take a few minutes
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Now shoe soles are completely clean and ready to get paint.
Tap Off The Edge
Sometimes when we are painting soles, paint can get to places where we don’t want it to be, and it can ruin the design. To prevent this, we use tap, use tape on the edges of the sole it will keep edges protected from paint.
This way, you can easily paint the sole without being worried about the paint spreading around the sole.
To make this step easier, cut tape into small pieces, and apply on edges; this way, it will be easier to manage and apply.
Prime The Soles
Applying this method totally depend on you, because this step isn’t required, but it helps to get a better result. It will make the paint stick better on the sole, and it will increase the quality of the paint on the sole.
You should use different primer designs for a different type of sole. For example, if you are using a rubber, then consider using primer especially made for rubber sole.
You can buy primers at an online store or your local hardware store. Use a paintbrush and apply the primer evenly to soles. White acrylic paint can also be used as a primer.
Let Primer Dry
Before moving to the next step, take a look at the sole to see if the primer is dry. To know how long it will take to dry, read instructions on the primer. If you don’t find the information, check it with your fingers and be gentle while touching the surface.
If touching doesn’t leave any mark on your finger, then the primer is dry, and you can move to the next step, which is painting your shoe soles.
STEP 2
Choose Applicable Paint
First, you have to decide which paint is suitable for the material of your shoe soles. Because there are lots of companies, who manufacture paints for different materials.so you have to decide which paint is suitable for your shoe soles.
Acrylic paint is most common to use on the sole, which works for an extended period. Most companies specifically designed paints for leather or rubber.
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Many paints are used to paint the shoe sole, but the most popular one is “Plasti Dip,” which comes in different colors.
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Painting on leather, you have to choose “Angelus paints,” its best color for shoe soles.
Preparation
Now you must have to do some preparations for starting the painting. Because without proper equipment you can’t make it the right way.
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You need dish soap and cloth to clean the shoe sole. Because if the shoe sole didn’t clean as well, the paint would vanish soon.
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You need masking tape to cover those places where you don’t want color, making it easier to paint on the shoe sole.
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Piece of old newspaper to protect your surface from paint.
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Get a brush for paint that is small enough to cover every edge and curve with perfection.
Start painting
Now, using the clean brush, apply the first coat of paint on your sole. Make sure you don’t waste your paint on those places where you don’t need it, so make it slowly.
When you are done applying the first coat, you have to wait at least one hour to apply another coat of paint. The waiting time depends on the type of paint you used and how long you have to wait.
Some high-quality paints take less time to dry, but Waiting for one hour is best for good results.so keep calm and wait for one hour.
Further paint coats
After drying the paint of the first coat, it is time to apply the second coat of paint. You have to do 2-5 coats of paint because different colors and shades have different effects.
Continuing panting carefully, wait for one hour to apply the next layer of paint.
If you are using black color on your sole of shoes, it gets just one or two coats of color.
You have to apply more than two coats for better results, if you choose a lighter or brighter color for sole painting like light blue, pink, or yellow, you will be able to use more coats on soles.
Finishing
After done with painting your shoe soles, now place them in a newspaper, soles up, and let them dry overnight for better results. Be careful in this finishing process and handle shoes carefully; you don’t want to ruin the paint job that you work very hard on. Try not to let anything touch newly painted soles.
Cool places will fasten the dry process, so consider keeping your shoes in dry areas to let them dry fast.
STEP 3
Extra protection
After applying the paint on the shoe sole and waiting to dry all the layers you used on the sole, and ready for new shoes to wear that you paint yourself.
But there is one more thing that you have to do to protect the hard work you are putting in painting soles. For extra protection, you have to use sealant on the sole.
A sealant will protect the sole of your shoes from vanishing the paint as soon as you wear your shoes. You can use sealant on any paint works.
There are different kinds of sealants, but the mod podge is really helpful for this kind of paintwork.
Mod podge sealant available in shiny and matte clear form, it totally depends on your choice, which one you want to use on the shoe sole.
Applying Sealant
Now it’s time to make your work perfect and make it last for a long time, you just need to apply the first coat of sealant on shoe sole and leave it for 15 minutes, that’s enough time to dry it. Make sure you just use a clean paintbrush to apply sealant layer by layer.
Paint Second Coat If You Want
Two coats are always better than one; it is not necessary to do two layers. If you are looking for better protection and quality, consider another coating on soles. Typically people go with one coat sealant, but this is good as well, but extra coats will be an extra layer of protection.
When you are applying coat sealant, make sure you let the first coat dry for 15 to 20 minutes, when the first coat is dried then you can apply the next coat of sealant. You can touch the coat with your fingers to see if the coat is dry or not; if it is dry, then consider applying a second coat.
Removing Painter’s Tape
Now we have completed our necessary steps to paint shoe soles, now it is time to remove painter tape that you used before applying paint on the sole.
Try not to ruin the paint we just did, and take it off carefully. If the paint is not fully fried and you try to remove the tape, it can ruin your work, and you will need to perform it again.
As another layer of protection lets your shoe dry for a night, you can remove it without being worried about paint being ruined.
These steps are beneficial and high quality, that is why these methods are being used by professionals. Follow these steps as mentioned and paint soles of shoes without being worried about ruining it.
What Kind Of Paint Do You Use On A Rubber?
You can not use regular paints to paint the rubber. Some specific pants are made for rubber paint. There are not many kinds of paints in the market that make it possible to paint on a rubber. The question is which paint is best? I will explain which paints are best for a rubber. I’ll make a list of beat paints that are suitable for the rubber.
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Acrylic paint
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Chlorinated rubber paint
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Commercial-Grade marine paint
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is a water-based material, so it can be thinned with water. Wet paint and brushes can be clean with soap and water. Acrylic paints are dry quickly, so no need to wait between the coating layers to dry.
Acrylic paints are more effective than oil paints. So you don’t worry about it, it won’t crack. Acrylic paints are available in jars, in small ink bottles, and in plastic squeeze bottles.
Chlorinated rubber paint
Chlorinated rubber paint is very flexible, water-resistant, and useful for outdoor things. It is mostly used in the shipbuilding sector. You can apply it with a brush, roller, and spray.
Chlorinated rubber paints dry fast, so you don’t have to wait much longer between the coating. Chlorinated rubber paints are fungi resistant alkali and non-toxic, so feel free to use them. It comes with long-lasting finishing and excellent visibility.
Commercial-Grade marine paint
Commercial grade marine paints have exceptional durability. You can use it for many purposes. These kinds of paints are used for swimming pools and boats.
Commercial grade marine paint has high resistance against cracking, fading, and chipping. It is also waterproof paint.