Okay, a while back (March to be exact), I did this DIY on how to paint the soles of your pumps. It ended up getting a bunch of re-pins on Pinterest, and ended up being featured on Buzzfeed. I was beyond stoked! Actually, chances are, that very feature may be the reason you are now visiting my blog right this minute. Anyways, with all the views came an equal amount of questions. I wanted to do an updated version of the painted sole, answering all your questions at the end of this post.
P.S. If you decide to test this DIY out, I’d love for you to share a picture of the finished result on my Facebook page!!
+ Supplies needed: A pair of pumps (find my rad silver ones from Lulu’s here), one bottle of white nail polish, two bottles of the colored polish of your choice, one bottle of clear top coat, medium size paint brush, small touch up brush, and a large brush.
+ Step 1: Tape off your shoes! You don’t want to get polish on the shoe and have to worry about getting it off with nail polish remover and than removing the color of the shoe. Trust, me it’s a real bummer.
+ Step 2: Pant your shoes with your primer, aka the white nail polish, using your medium sized brush. You only need one coat and it doesn’t need to be solid.
+ Step 3: Now start with your color of choice- I chose to try out an orange shade, very similar to Tangerine Tango– the Pantone color of the year! You are going to need paint on a few coats (I did 3) using your now clean medium size brush, making sure you let them dry between each coat… which should only take about 10-15 minutes in the sun.
+ Step 4: Using your small brush and your colored polish, touch up any spots that need it.
+ Step 5: After your color is solid (no white peeking through), let it dry COMPLETELY & then finish it off with top coat.
+ Step 6: Lastly, let the top coat dry & you are good to go! Easy, huh?!!
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Q1: Why would you use nail polish? Isn’t that an expensive waste of money?
A1: I actually use the $.99 Wet ‘n Wild nail polish, which saves money as it is perfectly portioned… so to speak.
Q2: Is there nothing else than nail polish that I could use? Something at the arts and crafts shop? Acrylic maybe?
A2: Acrylic would work just fine, and to top it off I am sure they have a clear sealer paint as well!
Q3: I don’t have white polish lying around, can I use another color for the primer.
A3: Light colors would possibly work. White is best cause it is solid in color, while lights are more opaque.
Q4: What kind of sole works best. Some pumps have rubber type soles & I cant imagine this would work very well.
A4: Slick rubber soles work best, the one that won’t work well is cork as it’s porous & sucks up the polish.
Q5: After you paint them are the soles slick and hard to walk on.
A5: Just like new shoes, at first they are a bit slick. Once you walk around you will begin to get some traction on ’em.
Q6: Could you change colors? Would regular nail polish remover do the trick so you could paint them a different color?
A6: I would say you use pure acetone. It may remove the original sole, but it won’t matter if you’re painting ’em again.
Q7: How is the lasting power on these? Has it chipped?
A7: It comes off one the par of the shoe that hits the ground, as any shoe would (just paint it again). No other chips!!
( Always feel free to ask me anymore questions, and stay tuned to see how I styled these babies!! )
Why not just use spray paint? You can get a great white or grey actual primer. And the. Montana brand spray paint (used by graffiti writers, has the most extensive color selection… Amazing colors!). Wouldn’t this be easier then using nail polish which tends to gunk up?
I would be worried about spray paint because it’s a bit messy and could get on other parts of the shoe. The nail polish works for me and never gets gunky, it gives a much more shiny appearance as well :)
Yep, that’s how I found this blog :) Such an awesome idea thanks for the extra tips.
I’m totally doing this. Such a good idea. I’m thinking turquoise under my light beige heels. Thoughts?
very very cute!! Post a pic to my FB page when you finish cutie :)
Quick question — how do you recommend getting your brushes clean? I thought nail polish remover would be the obvious choice, but my brushes are stubbornly holding on to the polish and just getting globby instead of clean.
I don’t use nail polish brushes, but paint brushes. To clean them I usually mix pure acetone and water in a cup and let them soak for a while. Using a glass cup because plastic will disintegrate.