Hi! I successfully removed the old insoles for my air jordan 1 sneakers, and now I’m looking for the best tape or glue for my new insoles. Preferably something I can find locally and not have to order online. Thank you!

I see a lot of incredible custom hand-painted sneakers on here, and while I love the artistry, it can get pretty expensive or require a lot of skill to do yourself.

I was thinking about how common DTF (Direct to Film) prints and iron-on patches are for custom t- shirts and hoodies. Why don't we see that style of DIY customization applied to sneakers more often?

It seems like an easy, budget-friendly way for people to change up their shoes exactly to their taste without committing to expensive paint jobs or risking ruining a clean pair of kicks.

Do you think heat-transfer stickers or patches would hold up well on standard sneaker materials, or would they just peel right off? Has anyone tried doing this to their collection?

I know KixKote has been discussed on here so sort of wanted to created an open discussion.

I've painted 200+ pairs of shoes (mostly football cleats) over the years using a combination of Angelus and Jacquard paints. Eventually I started making my own mix with an intercoat and urethane additive to improve durability, and honestly it worked really well. Outside of normal football cleat wear, I never had any major durability issues.

When KixKote started getting a lot of attention (especially after Dillon's videos), I figured it was the next evolution and could replace my entire paint system. During Flip Week I sent in all of my old paint products (over 30lbs worth) and switched everything over.

After using it for a while, I'm honestly not sure where I stand. I'm curious if other people have had the same experience or if I'm missing something.

Cons I've noticed:

• It's basically impossible to hand paint with a brush, regardless of the additives or ratios I've tried.
• The colors don't seem as vibrant or saturated as Angelus or Jacquard.
• Stencils don't seem to stick and lay flat as well over KixKote.
• I still get stencil lifting, so I haven't really seen an improvement there compared to my old paint system.
• The metallics have been pretty disappointing. Compared to other brands, they barely look metallic.
• More expensive than other brands.

Pros:

• Durability? Maybe. This is the one I'm still unsure about. I don't keep personal pairs. I sell everything I paint, so I rarely get to see how they hold up months later. If you've been using KixKote long-term, I'd really like to hear your experience.
• Their Soft Feel + Paint + Water mix does seem to produce a softer finish than Angelus with Too Soft.

At this point I'm honestly leaning toward switching back to Angelus, but that would mean buying an entirely new paint collection again.

For those of you who've spent a lot of time with KixKote:

• Have you found it to be significantly more durable?
• Have you figured out any tricks?
• Have you switched back to Angelus or another system?

Just sharing my own experience and curious if it's been has been similar to everyone else's or if there's something I'm overlooking.

So I have been working with kix kote for 2 months…it’s absolutely fantastic when using an airbrush but my experience with using with brushes has been terrible…anyone else?

I use the mediums (brush boost and thick coat) but my results have been far below expectations…

I have taken to using Angelus with brushes work and kixkote for airbrushing.

Curious if anyone else is doing the same?

Hi all,

I made a post about removing the Bill and Ted logo on my newly acquired Adidas Torsions, and y'all confirmed what I needed to do. However, since these are expensive, nice sneakers that I plan to wear daily, I want to ensure I do it right. but I wasn't able to really find a conclusive list of what I needed as a total beginner. I have my cart, but I'm not sure if it's complete. Here's what I have so far:

• Angelus paint set
• Angelus finishers (all 4 so I can see what matches my shoes)
• Angelus deglazer
• Angelus thinner
• Angelus paintbrushes
• Painter's tape
• Paint palette for previewing and paint mixing
• Sandpaper of various grits
• X-acto knife
• 100% acetone nail polish remover + rubber gloves
• As well, I want to get a custom decal, but not sure how to color match that, what type to get (heat transfer, waterslide, etc) or when to put it on in the process

I was thinking about cotton balls, but since I'm only working on a small area of my sneakers I'm thinking Q-Tips are good enough and probably better suited anyways. Anything else I need? Thank you for any help!

Most of y’all know I do restoration work (cleans, reglues, sole swaps, etc). I have a client that wants to make some custom Chicago 1 ‘85 cuts out of another of the ‘85 retro releases. Will have to obviously paint some panels to make them into the Chicagos so was wondering from y’all’s standpoint what grit sandpapers do y’all use when going between coats and paint besides acetone is there any other prep I should do on the leather? Any other advice is welcome.

I need some advice with a Spiderman art project of mine.

I have painted on shoes a couple time before but it has always been for other people, this time i wanna make som custom shoes for myself. I really love spiderman and wanted to design some custom spiderman shoes.

I have made a very quick digital sketch of how i was thinking they should look but im not sure. Some say they look childish which i guess i can kinda see, does anyone have any advice on how to make them look better or atleast a little less childish?

(I dont really wanna remove spiderman himself from the shoes since i also want a bit of a challenge when i paint them)

Any advice is highly appreciated :)

https://preview.redd.it/qp5v5qdsyshh1.png?width=1492&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef359dc9889a942ed3bd8f3606b6ddb91e31344a