Okay, folks, let’s dive into my little project from the other day – customizing a pair of Jordan 11s. The goal? White and orange. Sounds simple, right? Well, it was a bit more involved than I initially thought, but hey, that’s the fun of it!
First, I gathered my materials. Obviously, I needed the shoes. I managed to snag a pair of all-white Jordan 11s – a perfect blank canvas. Then came the paint. I went with Angelus paints because I’ve used them before, and they’re pretty reliable. Specifically, I picked up their white and orange colors, also a matte finisher and a deglazer.
Next step: Prepping. This is super important, you cannot skip that, or the paint won’t stick right and it will looks terrible!. I used the Angelus deglazer to wipe down the parts of the shoe I planned to paint. Basically, this removes the factory finish and gives the paint something to grip onto. I use a simple cotton pad.
- Deglaze the areas to be painted.
- Tape off any areas you don’t want painted.
Steps:
I used some painter’s tape to carefully mask off the sections I wanted to keep white. This took some patience, especially around the curves and edges of the shoe. It’s worth taking your time here, because any mistakes will show up later.
Now for the fun part: painting! I started with a thin coat of white, just to even things out. The base was already white, but this helped create a uniform surface for the orange. I let that dry completely – like, overnight completely. Don’t rush the drying process!
Then, I applied the orange. Again, thin coats are key. I did about three coats, letting each one dry for a few hours before applying the next. It’s better to do multiple thin coats than one thick, gloppy coat. Trust me, I’ve learned that the hard way.
Once the orange was fully dry (another overnight wait!), I removed the tape. This is always a satisfying moment, like unwrapping a present. There were a couple of tiny spots where the paint had bled under the tape, but I was able to touch those up with a tiny brush and some white paint.
Finally, I applied a coat of matte finisher. This protects the paint and gives it a nice, even look. I went with matte because I didn’t want the shoes to be too shiny. Again I wait it to dry.
And that’s it! My custom white and orange Jordan 11s. It was a bit of a process, but totally worth it. The feeling of wearing something you made yourself is pretty awesome. Would I do it again? Absolutely!
