These products can also be costly for you. So, weigh your options before deciding which product to use.
Can You Paint Shoes with Acrylic Paint?
You commonly see painted shoes when you stroll downtown. After-purchase shoe art is slowly getting popular.
The great designs provide more aesthetic character to the shoes. What types of paint do they use for these customizations? Can you paint your shoes with acrylic paint?
Acrylic paint is perfect for shoe art designs. You can use it to paint any make of shoes. It works on leather, canvass, rubber, and fabric.
The preparation and application methods may differ depending on the material. You can also apply additional techniques to strengthen the paint’s bond with the shoe or prolong its life.
You should stick around if you plan to paint your shoes with acrylic. I will cover how acrylic works on different shoe materials.
I will also elaborate on how you prepare the shoes for the painting job. As a bonus, I will talk about how you can make your painted shoes waterproof.
You might also find the paints I feature interesting.
Can You Use Acrylic Paint on Your Shoes?
You can consider using acrylic paint if you want to beautify your kicks. With the right preparation, it should work fine. I will not talk about the beauty of your design.
I trust that you have a perfect idea about what to create and how to proceed.
However, I will provide information on how the paint works on different shoes.
Leather Shoes
You can use acrylic paint to beautify your leather shoes. Leather shoes are usually the most precious shoes on your shoe rack.
Or at least next to your KD, Kobe, or Air Jordan. If you think of painting them, you must ensure you will not regret your decision.
Acrylic paint adheres well to leather materials. However, you must prepare the surface to ensure the bond between the rubber and the paint. I have provided the simple preparation steps below.
Step 1: Clean the shoes from dirt, debris, or oils that can interfere with the paint’s adherence to the leather.
You can use any cloth wet with soap and water.
Step 2: Remove the silicone coating of the shoes. The shoe surface is shiny because of this coating. If you do not remove this, the paint may not stick well.
You can use shoe deglaze such as the Angelus Leather Preparer & Deglazer. You can also use alternatives, such as rubbing alcohol, acetone, or even a lemon juice mixture.
Step 3: Clean the shoes again. Do a final cleaning by wiping each shoe with a dry towel.
Step 4: Dry the shoes. Let the shoes sit for a couple of hours to ensure the leather is dry before you start painting.
After painting your shoes with acrylic, you may want to seal the paint with a sealant or a waterproofing coat.
Canvas Shoes
Canvas is a plain-woven cotton fabric. Acrylic paint is generally known to be a good type of paint for fabric.
Therefore, the canvas-acrylic paint combination is perfect. Most custom-designed canvas shoes and sneakers you see on store shelves use acrylic paints.
Acrylic paint is a popular choice for canvas surfaces because it is easy to apply and dries more quicker than oil-based paints. On top of that, acrylic doesn’t smell as strong as the latter.
They have lesser volatile organic compounds (VOCs), making them technically safer. Another edge of acrylic paint is the price advantage.
You might want to know how to proceed with painting canvas shoes with acrylic paint. The general steps below might give you some ideas.
Step 1: Prepare the canvas. Ensure that the shoes are clean before you start painting. If you paint used shoes, wash them first and wait until they dry.
Step 2: Outline your design. Avoid messing up your shoe’s design by outlining your design with a pencil before applying the paint. You can use masking or painter’s tape if necessary.
Step 3: Paint and enjoy. Clean your space, put on your protective suits (gloves, mask, eye protector), and start the painting job.
When the paint dries up, check your work again. There might be some spots where you need to apply more paint to adjust the color.
Rubber Shoes
Rubber shoes are good for everyday use. What if you can make them even better by adding some paint art? Why not?
You can use acrylic paints to do it. These products are easy to find. Art shops and your local hardware stores have them.
Does acrylic paint work well on rubber? Yes, it does. This type of paint is versatile and works on many surfaces, including rubber.
- Wash or clean the rubber with soap and water to ensure it is dust and dirt-free
- Wipe the rubber surface with rubbing alcohol
- Secure the parts of the shoes with painter’s tape
- Use a paintbrush
- The paint may appear dry after 30 minutes or an hour, but do not use your shoes yet at this stage – it requires 24 hours of curing time.
Fabric Shoes
Acrylic paint is the second most appropriate paint for fabric shoes. Of course, special formulas or fabric-dedicated paints are the best.
Although, it is a matter of preference at the end of the day. I prefer fabric paint because I feel it is the ideal choice. However, some people prefer to use acrylic paint for their reasons.
Technically, fabric paints are still acrylic. However, they are thinner compared to non-fabric acrylic paints.
Those who use acrylic paint on fabric shoes usually add an acrylic polymer medium to improve adhesion. This method also helps reduce the brittleness of the non-modified acrylic paint.
Those who tried using acrylic paint on fabric shoes report that it works well. However, they sometimes experience cracking issues.
Dedicated fabric acrylic paints also appear to last longer than regular acrylic paints.
Do You Need to Prep Your Shoes Before Painting with Acrylics?
Surface preparation is the key to a successful shoe-painting project. You must always ensure that the shoes are free from dust, dirt, or debris.
These can interfere with the paint’s adhesion to the shoe material. Do you need to clean the shoes if they are brand new? Yes, it would help if you still cleaned them.
If you are dealing with used shoes, ensure to wash them first. You can’t remove the dirt under the paint when the paint dries. The dirt and stains might still be visible after the paint dries.
If you are painting leather shoes, the preparation is even more important. Leather shoes are shiny because of the silicone coating.
Removing dirt and debris from the shoes is not enough. You need to strip off the silicone coating of the shoes to ensure that the acrylic paint adheres well to the surface.
Tip 1: Start with a good cleaning
Whichever shoes you choose to renovate, it is necessary to clean them before applying the paint. In the case of canvas sneakers, you can clean them with a sponge or brush dipped in a mixture of water, neutral soap, and a pinch of baking soda.
If they are leather shoes, it is a more delicate process, since you need a brush or dry cloth to first remove the dust that has accumulated on the shoes and then use a damp sponge with a little mild hand soap to remove the rest of the dirt that has remained attached. It is important to make sure to remove all the soap with a dry cloth.
So, can you use acrylic paint on shoes? Yes again; but they have to be super clean before applying the paint.
Tip 2: Choose your paint color and the best design
Before you start painting, the most important thing to do is to choose the color and design you are going to apply to your shoes. The good thing about choosing acrylic paint on shoes is that it has many color alternatives and can be used on any material.
Another advantage of using acrylic paint is that it is ideal for drawings, as it dries quickly and is water-resistant. It can also be applied in different methods such as brush or spray and is readily available in most craft or hardware stores.
Tip 3: Let’s go for that new look
Now you are still asking yourself, can you paint shoes with acrylic paint?
Here you have a step-by-step guide on how to make your shoes as good as new:
- Step 1: Once you have cleaned your shoes, place them on a clear table and stuff them inside with socks or paper to work better on your design.
- Step 2: Then cover all the areas you don’t want to paint for neatness with paper tape. These areas can be the toe and the sides of the sole. You can also cover with tape the areas where you would like to change the color or leave the same color as before.
- Step 3: Place the paint in a container (not directly on the shoe), this will help you work more accurately on your design.
- Step 4: Use a brush to apply the paint and make short, even strokes. With a thin brush, you can retouch details and make drawings.
Here is a step-by-step tutorial so you can leave your old shoes with a super new look.
No doubt this is the easiest and most useful way to make your sneakers look new.
I hope you like this acrylic paint tutorial for your shoes. No one will believe the amazing results!
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