How To Paint Shoes: Best Tips & Recommended Art Supplies

Use these tips to hand-paint shoes made from canvas, leather, or vinyl. We’ve tested a range of art supplies and share our top picks for the best results.

We also have tutorials on stone painting and hand-painting garden pots.

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Create Your Own Hand-Painted Shoes

A few years ago, my teenage daughter started customizing canvas shoes (which is now a business venture) and hasn’t turned back since. Since that time, we have also painted shoes made from leather, mesh, and vinyl surfaces as well. These are our tips for best results.

If you’re like us, you may not want to buy new supplies for each project so we have listed several options in case you already own something that can work.

As new supplies come on the market we try them out and, if we like them, update this article to include them.

Our ebook, How To Paint Shoes, provides more information than we can fit in a blog post. It saves instantly to your device and includes all of our tips. If you’re already experienced with acrylic paints on canvas, you probably just need a few ideas for specific materials to use (see below).

Contents

• Shoe Painting Art Materials & Supplies
• Planning Your Design
• Shoe Painting Steps
• Fixing Mistakes
• Resources

Shoe Painting Art Materials & Supplies

1Shoes

You can paint canvas, leather, mesh, and vinyl shoes (or a combination). Each type of material requires different preparations.

Options include Converse, Nike, Jordans or any other makes or models you like. You just need to know what type of material you are painting so you can prepare and paint them properly.

The base color or colors of the shoes does not matter. Most shoe parts are paintable except the soles. Shoe soles do not take paint well so just tape those off to protect them while you paint.

If you want all these tips in one handy file, get the ebook.

If this is your first time painting shoes, consider getting a test pair at a thrift shop to experiment on.

Test Your Materials First
Because there is no way for us to test every possible surface and finish, do this at your own risk and always test a small area first to be sure you are happy with the results.

2Paints and Primer / Preparer

We’ll first go over the supplies needed and then the step-by-step instructions.

For Canvas or Mesh Surfaces

Use these two products combined (1-part paint mixed with 1-part 2-Soft Fabric Medium).

You do not need to use any other products to prepare a canvas or mesh surface.

Angelus Leather Paints | Amazon

Angelus 2-Soft Fabric Medium | Amazon

Alternate Materials

Before Angelus Leather Paints were available, we created our painted canvas shoes with these items:

• Acrylic primer (to prepare surface) | All-purpose wall painting primer works great but you have to apply thin coats. You can also use Gesso (artist’s canvas primer).
• Acrylic paints |  Golden (brand) is top notch quality – goes on beautifully. You can also use any acrylic paints sold at craft shops such as Decoart, Martha Stewart, Folk Art, artist’s acrylics, or acrylic wall paint.
• Acrylic Paint Thinner | Thin layers are key to preventing cracking and getting a good end result. Acrylic Paint Thinner is the same stuff used with airbrushing.

For Leather Surfaces

Leather surfaces must be prepared first with a product like Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer (which is a mild acetone) before they are ready to paint. Read more in the step-by-step instructions (below).

Angelus Leather Paints | Amazon

Leather Preparer and Deglazer | Amazon

For Vinyl Surfaces

Vinyl requires 3 steps before it is ready to paint.

1.  Use sandpaper to gently roughen the surface.
2. Apply Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer to further ready the surface.
3. Then apply a clear Adhesion Promoter Primer (spray) made for vinyl, rubber, and other plastic surfaces.

Once that’s done, you can paint vinyl surfaces with Angelus Leather Paints.

To Protect Soles

The rubber or other composite material of shoe soles does not hold paint nicely. It is best to tape off areas like this to protect them from the paint.

Vinyl tape works best for covering curved surfaces but you can also use painter’s tape.

For Detail Work

You may already have favorite art supplies for fine or detailed work. These are some we love.

Pay attention to tip sizes! They range from fine to thick.

Markers for Filling in Colors

Posca Paint Pens | Amazon

Markers for Outlining

• Prisma color fine-tip markers
• Faber-Castel Pitt artist pens
• Sharpie paint pens

Note: Metallic markers may run when Scotch Guard is applied over top.

Other Supplies

• Pencil for sketching design on shoes.
• Synthetic paint brushes suitable for acrylic paint.
• Paint tray, water cup for rinsing brushes.
• Rags
• Airbrush kit for fast, even coverage

For Protecting Painted Shoes

These are listed in order of preference.

• Angelus Acrylic Finisher – available in matte, satin, normal, and high gloss
• Scotch Guard for outdoor fabric or polyurethane
• Mod Podge Outdoor or any durable sealant that won’t discolor (apply in thin layers)

Planning Your Design

• If you can paint it on a flat canvas, you can probably paint it on canvas shoes.
• Unless you’re an artistic daredevil, start simple.
• Pick basic designs you can fill with solid colors and outline with marking pen. From a distance, these simpler designs really look great.
• Go DaVinci on your second pair when you’ve had some practice.

Before You Start

• Try your design on paper first (to be sure you like it), then draw it on the shoes using an HB pencil.
• Heavy lines will show through the paint, so press lightly.
• And don’t forget to protect non-paintable surface like the soles and insides first.

Shoe Painting Steps

Video Overview

1Tape Off Non-Paintable Areas

1. Remove shoelaces and start with clean shoes.
2. Apply vinyl tape or painter’s tape to any areas you do not want to paint including the soles.
3. Decide if you will paint the inside and prepare surface appropriately.
4. If shoe is flimsy, stuff it with something like a rolled-up cloth to provide a sturdy painting surface.

Leather Surfaces

• Apply Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer as directed on product using dust-free cloth. Allow to dry at least 15 minutes.

Canvas Surfaces

A   Best method

• Paint directly on the surface with diluted paint (1-part Angelus Leather Paint mixed with 1-part Angelus 2-soft Fabric Medium).

or

B  Old School Method

• Prime the canvas areas you will be painting with very thin layers of primer or gesso.
• Allow to dry completely (usually takes an hour) or use a hair dryer or heating tool to speed it up.
• You want the canvas covered in primer, but not so thickly that you lose the texture. The texture helps the acrylic paints “grab” the surface.

Vinyl Surfaces

• Follow the 3 steps listed here: sand the surface, apply Angelus Leather Preparer and Deglazer, and the apply a clear Adhesion Promoter Primer (spray).

2Plan / Sketch Your Design

Draw your design(s) on the shoes using an HB pencil. Go lightly or the pencil will show through the paint.

3Paint Your Shoes

At last!

Fill in your designs with paint. Plan out your layers: will you do the background first or last?

Use marking pens to outline your designs and add details. Fan art, quotes, poetry, or graffiti: anything goes.

For a steadier hand, use a small rolled towel to prop up your hand in a good drawing position.

Consider using tape to block off shapes or areas for painting later.

Always allow paint or markers to dry thoroughly before doing the next layer.

A heated drying tool (at 300°F | 148°C) or hair dryer can be used to make Angelus Leather Paints

4Protect Your Art

After your shoes are painted and you have allowed everything to dry thoroughly, it is recommended that you apply a protective finish.

These products are listed in order of preference. Test small areas first to be sure they won’t smudge.

A   Best Method: Use Angelus Matte Acrylic Finisher, also available in satin, normal, and high-gloss finishes.

or

B   Protect with Scotch Guard. There are several types: we use the one made for protecting outdoor patio fabric. Follow the product instructions.

or

C   Alternately, you could use polyurethane, Mod Podge Outdoor, and some other durable outdoor sealant suitable for painted surfaces.

Fixing Mistakes

There are a few options for covering up mistakes or removing paint.

Cover Up Paint Mistakes

• Angelus white leather paint covers nicely.
• If you used primer, you can reapply it over top and repaint your design.

How to Remove Paint from Sole of Shoe

If you get acrylic paint on the sole of the shoe, it may be removed with one of these. I tested all of them on different shoes and each one worked.

Before trying it, tape over the good areas you want to protect.

You can find all of these products at home improvement stores:

• Methyl Hydrate (99.9% pure) | see Methyl Hydrate (also known as Methanol)
• Mineral Spirits | Not mineral oil
• WD-40 | Yes, the same stuff used as a lubricant.

Resources

Shoe Painting Project

Oh My Daisies! How To Transform Plain Shoes With Paint | DIY Project

And live long and prosper!

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛