My Little Sneaker Project
So, I kept seeing these kicks, you know, the Air Jordan 1s with that bright green and orange combo. Looked pretty sharp. Couldn’t really find the exact ones I wanted, or maybe the price was just nuts, can’t remember exactly. Anyway, I got this idea in my head. Why not try and make something like it myself?
I had an old pair of beat-up Jordans sitting in the closet. Nothing special, just a basic white pair that had seen better days. Figured they’d be the perfect guinea pig for this little experiment. First thing was cleaning them up. Gave ’em a good scrub, got all the dirt and grime off. Took way longer than I thought, honestly. Those little crevices are a pain.
Getting the Gear Together
Next up, supplies. This was kind of fun, kind of annoying. Needed paint, obviously. Angelus paint is what everyone seems to use, so I went looking for that.
- A solid green, kinda like pine green.
- That bright, almost safety orange color.
- Some leather preparer and deglazer (fancy name for stuff that strips the old finish).
- Paint brushes, different sizes. Tiny ones for details.
- Masking tape. Lots of it.
- A matte finisher to seal it all up.
Finding the exact shades I pictured took a bit of clicking around online. You know how it is, the color on the screen never looks quite the same in person. Just had to cross my fingers and hope for the best.
The Messy Part: Painting
Alright, here’s where things got interesting. I started by taping off all the sections I didn’t want green on. The swoosh, the midsole, parts of the heel. Taping is key, they say. Man, it takes patience. My fingers were sticky and I probably used half a roll just getting it right.
Then, the green paint. Started applying thin coats. Waited for each one to dry. Built it up slowly. Looked okay at first. Then I moved onto the orange parts, taped off the green. This is where I messed up a bit. Got some orange bleed under the tape onto the green section near the ankle. Had to quickly wipe it off and touch up the green later. It’s not as easy as those YouTube videos make it look, let me tell ya.
It was kind of a back-and-forth process. Paint, wait, tape, paint, wait, untape, realize you missed a spot, tape again, paint again. Took up most of my Saturday afternoon. My back was kinda sore from hunching over too.
The Finish Line
After all the colors were down and dry, I carefully removed all the tape. Then I applied the matte finisher over the painted areas. Couple of light coats. This protects the paint job, stops it from scuffing off too easily. Swapped out the old white laces for some black ones I had lying around. Thought it gave them a bit more pop.
So, how’d they turn out? Honestly? Not perfect. If you look close, you can see a few tiny imperfections, like where that orange bled a little. But from a few feet away? They look pretty cool. Got that green and orange vibe I was going for. It felt good, you know? Taking something old and making it into something different with my own hands. Even if it’s just a pair of sneakers. It’s mine, I did it. Better than just letting them collect dust, right?
