Revamp Your Old Nike Shoes | Painting DIY

I bought this pair of Nikes back in April of 2011 or 2012 from a Goodwill in Savannah, GA for about $8. I usually donate all of the clothing items I no longer want, but even though I hadn't worn these in years, I couldn't bring myself to give them up. I never wear orange (or really any color for that matter) so they never went with anything, and they were starting to look a little worn.

BEFORE

I did a quick Google search and happened upon this video where YouTuber Sophiesophss completely revives a pair of all-white air force ones with a new cool design. I'm not that talented when it comes to painting, so I opted for black and white paint to just cover the existing orange color. 

Prior to painting, I prepped the shoes by scrubbing them with Dr. Bronner's soap + water, as well as using vinegar on the really dirty spots. I rinsed them clean and let them dry. While I painted the shoes, I soaked the laces in vinegar for a couple days, then washed them with soap and water, and finally, set them out in the sun to dry. 

The white paint was extremely easy to apply to the whole shoe and made dirty spots appear clean. I actually cut up an old beauty blender and used that to dab paint on textured spots in the front and some other hard to reach places.

This might have been an excessive step, but I covered both the white parts around the logo as well as the black accent line on the bottom with blue painter's tape. This was helpful along the stitching of the logo, because it was tricky covering up all the existing color without getting it on the white part of the shoe. There may be better tape to use for this, but this is just what I had on-hand. 

AFTER