Can You Spray Paint Leather Shoes to Give Them a New Look?

Leather shoes are classy, stylish, and smart. However, a color-faded leather shoe is neither a style statement nor smart. However, over a long period of use, your leather shoes will start having their color fade away.

Now you may want to make your leather shoes look shiny and glossy. Or you may just wish your shoes looked a bit fancier and fashionable. And you wonder: can you spray paint leather shoes?

Yes, you can. In fact, spray painting is an affordable way to give your shoe a new look. But you need paint specifically made for leather. Aside from that, you need to prepare your shoes to achieve an optimal shiny look. Furthermore, you must follow the correct course to do the task without damage.

With that out, let’s dive in a bit deeper. Read along as we further expand on how to spray paint leather shoes.

Can You Spray Paint Leather Shoes?

You can spray paint leather shoes. But you must do it with paints made particularly for leather surfaces, like the acrylic ones. As well as getting the right paint, you also need to get it the right way. 

Improperly applying paint can result in a dull, flaky painting that comes off. And for that reason, we have extensively illustrated how you should paint your leather shoes in the next part.

Does spray paint last on shoes?

Well, the listing period depends on how patiently you do the job. The paint should last long if you complete the painting with a high-quality finish – with slow and steady painting and proper air drying. Moreover, the properly painted shoe will also protect your shoes from water damage.

How to Spray Paint Leather Shoes?

Spray painting your leather shoes is not a tough task; it’s time-consuming and mindful. All you need is some tools and a lot of time and patience.

As well as ensuring you have all these items, you must paint your shoes in a well-ventilated area. It will ensure that you don’t inhale the paint fumes. 

Furthermore, ensure you’re always wearing protective gloves, so you don’t get paint on your hands. If necessary, wear a face mask while you’re painting your shoes.

Things You Will Need:

The Process

If you are ready with your bits and bobs, let’s get the job done with us.

1. Preparing Your Shoes

• Before you spray paint your pair of leather shoes, be sure to clean them. Get rid of dirt, muck, or dust off its surface.
• Remove the laces and any other removable features like the insoles from your shoes.

• Cover up any areas you don’t want to paint with mask tape. Those wanting to give the shoes a more colorful and artistic touch sketch designs with a light pencil. Don’t use too dark pencils.
• After that, use a piece of cotton ball to apply acetone to your shoes uniformly in one-direction strokes.
• Allow it to dry off.
• Then, use a piece of towel to wipe off the acetone. Keep applying acetone until the towel no longer shows any polish being wiped off.

2. Applying Spray Paint To Your Shoes

• To paint your shoes, cover the area you are working on with enough clothes or newspapers.
• Also, stuff your shoes with newspapers or towels to straighten out the shoe, ensuring the spray paint would reach every inch of the shoe.

• Take the aerosol spray 6 inches away while spraying the shoes. Apply the spray in layers uniformly. Don’t make one layer too thick. Several thin layers will provide a more high-quality finish than thick layers.
• After being done with one layer, allow the layer to dry off.
• After you finish off one layer, it is recommended that you allow it to dry for 20 minutes. Then again, start spraying around, adding on another layer.
• Repeat these steps several times – around 4-5 thin layers.
• Finally, dry them.
• Now, take off the masking tape.
• Lastly, let the shoe air dry for 24 hours, allowing the layers to settle on the leather surface.

3. Provide A Fine Finishing

Although this step is optional, applying a finisher after having the paint settled down serves some advantages. Your paint would provide a dispersed, semi-glossy surface finishing. 

A finisher (like Angelus) would give the shoe a shiny finish and protect the paint layers.

Top 5 Spray Paints For Leather

Now that we know how can you spray paint leather shoe, it’s time to find the right spray paint. Here is our favorite 5 paints idea for you.

1. Rust-Oleum Spray Paint

This brand makes paint from oil-based substances instead of the more conventional alcohol or chemical solvent paints. As such, it is much thicker and paints fast. 

As an added benefit, if you can’t tolerate fumes from normal paints. As the company advertised, the paint does facilitate fast paint coverage. 

However, it is not available in as wide a range of colors as its competitors. One more disadvantage may be its thick nature. You should be careful while painting to avoid accidentally putting too much paint in one spot or area.

2. Moneysworth & Best Brillo Renew Spray

Moneysworth spray is suitable for painting any leather, vinyl, or plastic surfaces. One fantastic thing about this brand is that they offer a wide range of colors, pallets, vibrancy, and shades. So you will not run out of color types to style your shoes with. 

Moreover, the paint would provide a strong layer of protection to your leather shoes.

However, Moneysworth offers quite a thin spray. You would need to spray on multiple layers to ensure a strong paint coating. 

Furthermore, some buyers have complained that each can contains insufficient spray. So you may need more than 2 cans, which makes applying to Moneysworth time-consuming and expensive. 

3. TRG Super Colour Spray Dye

TRG offers up to 50 different spray colors. It covers leather surfaces quite well and also dries a lot quicker. 

However, each can is quite small, and you may need a lot of cans to cover larger shoe surfaces.

4. Colorbond Leather Spray Paint 

Colorbond will help you get your shoes done quickly. The layers would dry within 2 minutes, and the paint would settle on the shoe within 10 minutes. Also, to satisfy your artistic charisma, the company provides 188 different spray colors. 

However, this product’s major disadvantage is its color pallet is inconvenient. You may not have the desired shade complimentary with their leather surface.

5. Krylon Spray Paint

Krylon Spray Paints provide a smooth matte black finish to your shoes. It’s also quite simple to use; the nozzle is well designed and would help coat your shoes smoothly. 

Aside from that, it’s also adhesive and durable.

The problem, however, is that you may need several layers to have an effective coating. It also takes some time to sit onto the surface thoroughly.

Can Spray Paint Damage Your Shoe?

Spray paints aren’t particularly known to damage shoes. Instead, if your leather shoes have gotten discolored, it is a good idea to use spray paints to recover them. 

But improper handling and application may damage your shoes. Not painting properly can make the paint peel off within a short time.

Alternative Paints

If you don’t want to spray paint your leather shoes, you can choose alternatives.

Acrylic Leather Paint

Acrylic paints are a safer option for coloring leather shoes. These paints are water-based and non-toxic. For the best outcome, you should paint your shoes with paints specifically made for acrylic. 

Acrylic paints are available both as sprays and liquid. You can perhaps become a bit more artistic with a paintbrush and liquid acrylic paints, using your shoes as the canvas. 

The process of coloring with acrylic leather paints is similar to spray paints. As we previously discussed, you need to clean, paint and dry your shoes accordingly.

Metalic Leather Paint

Metallic leather paints have metal flakes mixed with acrylic polyurethane paints. Despite having an intoxicating mixture of components, these paints are non-toxic. Coloring with these shoes would give a sparkling glitter to your shoes. 

However, these paints can stain clothes very easily. So you should be careful while handling them. Finding more unique shades of color can also be tricky and more expensive.

MB Brillocolor Spray Dye 

MB Brillo Color Spray dye is a spray paint product from Moneysworth and Best Brillo. This spray works excellent on any leather surface.

The dye is quite durable and, overall, a good buy.

FAQ’s:

• Can you use spray paint on leather?

You can use spray paint on leather. You just need to be careful with the preparation process. Leather is quite sensitive in terms of material structure. You should clean it thoroughly before putting on any paint. 

It is also important to see what sort of paint you can use. Acrylic leather spray paints are the best choice for coloring leather shoes.

• Does spray paint last on shoes?

It really depends on the brand of paint you will be using. Good brands with better quality paints would last for years on end. Higher quality spray paints have better adhesion and durability. 

If you are buying a particular brand of paint, it is wise to look at reviews from buyers. They would help give you an idea about durability.

• What paint can I use on leather shoes?

It is better to use paints specifically made for leather surfaces for leather shoes. Acrylic and spray paints for leather would give you the best results. Metallic paints can also be used to give a shinier look to your shoes.

Take Away

Can you spray paint leather shoes? Yes, you can.

Whether your leather shoes have faded or you want to style them, spray painting is a good way to go around.

However, the task requires a lot of patience and attention. Clean them first from dirt, put newspaper or towel to stretch, cover the places you don’t want to paint with masking tape, and spray in thin, uniformly layers. Your shoes are all new.

Just ensure you dry them properly between applying layers and finishing the painting.