Depending on the materials you’re working with, you’ll have to use different methods and materials to ensure your custom sneaker design lasts as long as possible without chipping, cracking, or peeling. To demonstrate how to paint mesh, plastic, and dye soles, Jake from @visionarykickz created a custom Air Max 720 tutorial. Follow along to learn the proper way to paint soft materials and customize translucent soles.
DIY Painted Shoe Soles
Stephanie White is a DIY expert who has over 10 years experience teaching design, art, and do-it-yourself projects. She has previously been published on Apartment Therapy and Ikea Hackers. When she’s not writing, Stephanie is traveling the globe on the lookout for inspiring crafts and living spaces.
Updated on 10/09/19
Love Louboutins’s iconic black and red high heels but can’t afford the designer price tag? Update a pair of old pumps to get a similar look with just a bit of paint. Using either acrylic craft paint or your favorite shade of nail polish you can paint the heels of your shoes to get a colorful statement shoe by adding a splash of color on your old tired pumps.
Materials Needed
- Old high heel shoes
- Acrylic paint or nail polish
- Small flat paintbrush or foam brush (if using acrylic paint)
- Paper towel or cloth
- Clear paint enamel or clear nail polish (optional)
- Dish soap
- Drop cloth
- Fine sandpaper (optional)
- Painter’s tape (If you lack painter’s tape you can substitute masking tape—be sure to stick the tape on the table or your pants first to help make the tape slightly less sticky)
- Find a pair of high heel shoes that you would not mind painting. Clean the entire bottom of the shoe with dish soap and a cloth. Make sure to really scrub away any grime or sticky residue that might be on the shoes to help ensure the paint will stay on the shoes. Allow the shoes to fully dry.
- Place the shoes on a drop cloth to prevent paint from dripping anywhere.
- To make painting your shoes easier, you can apply painter’s tape around the edge of each shoe’s heel to help you paint only on the bottom heel of the shoe. If you are painting suede shoes do not apply tape as it may wreck the fabric of the shoe. In this case, you will have to be more careful when painting so it is best to try painting a suede shoe once you have practiced first on a leather shoe.
- Flip the shoes upside down so that you can see the bottom of the shoes. Paint one thin coat of paint on the bottom of the high heel shoe, but not the areas where the shoe hits the ground as the paint will reduce the grip on your shoe. For best results paint the edge of the shoe by applying a thin amount of paint and carefully tracing the edge, then you can easily paint the rest of the shoe’s heel with ease. If your heel has a thick sole on the sides of the shoe you can paint the sides as well. While painting, be sure to have a wet cloth nearby to wipe away any paint that might have gone on unwanted areas before the paint dries. Repeat this step with the other shoe.
- After the first coat of paint has dried, paint the second coat of paint on both shoes and allow them to fully dry. Depending on the quality of paint you are using and how dark the heel of the shoe is you may need to add additional coats of paint to get the desired bright color if the heel is especially dark or the paint is very poor quality. If the acrylic paint or nail polish went on unevenly so that there are visible bumps, sand the area with fine grit sandpaper and apply another one to two coats of paint over that sanded area.
- If you wish you can paint one clear coat of paint enamel or clear nail polish for extra durability.
- Allow the shoes to fully dry for 40 minutes prior to wearing them to ensure the paint has fully dried.
Tips
- Experiment with using acrylic paint to paint the tops of your shoe by either painting the entire shoe or just certain areas like the tips of the shoes.
- For the best possible finish, paint the edges of your shoe with a paintbrush, then go over the entire area with a foam paint brush. A small paintbrush will give you more control over painting the edges of your shoe, then the foam paintbrush will give a more even finish to the paint without visible brushstrokes.
Angelus Tutorial: How to Dye Soles & Paint Mesh
Depending on the materials you’re working with, you’ll have to use different methods and materials to ensure your custom sneaker design lasts as long as possible without chipping, cracking, or peeling. To demonstrate how to paint mesh, plastic, and dye soles, Jake from @visionarykickz created a custom Air Max 720 tutorial. Follow along to learn the proper way to paint soft materials and customize translucent soles.
Customizing Air Max 720 with Angelus Paints & Dyes
- Angelus Acrylic Leather Paint
- Angelus Leather Dye
- Angelus Sole Bright
- Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer
- Angelus Paint Brush Set
- Angelus 2-Soft
- Angelus 2-Hard
- Airbrush
- Masking Tape
- Heat gun
Once you get your materials, follow these steps to create your own custom leather clothing.
1. Prep
Prep is the most important step of any custom project. Prepping the shoe properly helps ensure the paint adheres to the shoe and doesn’t wear easily.
First, use Angelus Preparer & Deglazer and a cotton pad to wipe down and prep the midsole on the Air Max 720s. Since the upper is made of mesh, you don’t need to use this to remove the factory finish as you normally would with leather shoes.
Then, use masking tape to tape off the areas of the shoe that you don’t want to paint in the next step. This includes the translucent soles and the hard overlays on the upper.
2. Painting Mesh
After prepping the shoe, you can start painting the mesh upper. For these customs, Jake used Hot Pink and Light Blue paint for a cotton candy colorway.
Since we’re painting mesh, which is a soft, porous material, you need to use Angelus 2-Soft to ensure the paint adheres and remains flexible. Use a 1:1 ratio of paint to 2-Soft to prevent the fabric from hardening after the paint sets.
Once the paint is prepared, use an airbrush to carefully apply several thin layers of paint, making sure to let each layer dry before adding another. Use a heat gun at 300 degrees for three to five minutes to set the paint.
3. Dyeing Soles
After you finish painting the upper, you can remove the masking tape to dye the soles. For translucent soles, we recommend a 1:1 ratio of Angelus Dye to Angelus Sole Bright. For these customs, the artist used Light Blue and Rose Dye.
Use a paintbrush to apply light and even coats, allowing each coat to fully dry. Be careful not to oversaturate the brush so the dye doesn’t bleed onto other areas of the shoe.
Allow the dye to fully dry, then use a cloth to wipe down the soles with alcohol or warm water and soap to remove excess dye. You may need to repeat this process a couple of times to get full coverage.
4. Painting Plastic
To finish the customs, Jake used Flat White paint to paint the plastic Nike logos on the shoe’s midsection.
Whereas 2-Soft helps paint adhere to soft fabrics, 2-Hard helps paints adhere to hard materials like plastic. Mix 2-Hard with your acrylic paint to ensure a strong, long-lasting finish.
More Custom Tutorials
If you want to see more custom tutorials like this one, make sure to subscribe to the Angelus YouTube channel to learn tips and techniques from more experienced sneaker artists.
Also, make sure to follow Angelus on Instagram and check out our online store to grab the materials you need to recreate these custom 720s!
What should I use to seal painted shoe soles?
Shop over 600+ styles of prescription and non-prescription colored contact lenses for your Halloween needs!
I painted the soles of my shoes. I wasn’t sure what to seal them with, so I Googled it and found some people who recommended using Mod Podge. I bought the glossy kind so that the pink would be shiny.
I wore my shoes once, and the soles were coated in grime. It’s normal for the bottoms of shoes to get a little dirty, but stuff like hair and grass were sticking to/ended up embedded in the Mod Podge.
I figured I must have just stepped in something sticky, so I used nail polish remover to remove the Mod Podge and some of the paint (that was the only way to get the grime off, especially since there was grass and hair embedded in the Mod Podge). I re-painted them, and tried the Mod Podge again. I let the Mod Podge dry for a few days to be positive it was dry, then tried wearing them again.
The same thing happened. Grass, hair, and all sorts of grime ended up basically glued to the bottom of the shoes. I scrubbed them with a toothbrush and a vinegar/baking soda mixture for 20 minutes to try to get it off, but they still look like this: ([url]http://i.imgur.com/BQU35Xyl.jpg[/url])
It won’t come off without me again removing the Mod Podge (and subsequently, the paint).
Again, I get that they won’t stay perfectly clean and pink, but I have shoes with white or tan soles that only get a little dirty/darkened — they don’t have giant smears of black stuff irremovably stuck to them! I don’t think the Mod Podge is a good idea for sealing the soles of my shoes.
What would be a good clear sealant to use for this?
Glossy Mod Podge tends to still be slightly sticky even after it’s completely dry. I tried sealing the soles of some high heels with it and ran into the same problem. However, the matte kind works just fine though the paint will eventually chip off from wear and tear.
A clear coat spray sealant would work better if you still want the glossiness. Something like this: [url]http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-6-Ounce-Crystal-Acrylic-Coating/dp/B001K65K26[/url]
Instead of Mod Podge, get acrylic medium.
MP is water based, and designed to be safe for children to use. As a result, it can soften or break down when exposed to water. Acrylic medium is a compound polymer substance that once dry, cannot be softened or broken down simply with water.
Spray paint on shoes tends to fail. Spray enamel and lacquer paints are designed for hard surfaces. If the surface they are applied to flexes or bends, the paint will crack and chip.
There are spray acrylics, they are more forgiving, just shop carefully.
It’s going to be very difficult to keep the bottoms of your soles clean in any outdoor situation. Maybe you can wear slip-on shoes when walking about in this costume and just change into these for photos? It may sound silly, but I did it at a recent con until I knew how the paint on my shoes would hold up. They held up great with a gesso primer, 2 coats of acrylic paint and 2-3 thin coats of clear Krylon gloss (but I didn’t paint the soles, so not sure if that would work in your specific situation.) Honestly, you may want to find a piece of pink pleather or vinyl that you can glue onto the bottom of your shoe and wipe clean.
