Learn to Paint Leather Shoes 2026

If you want to change the style of your leather shoes, then look at the following tip and learn how to paint shoes the easy way. Fortunately, painting leather shoes is easy and can have great results. There are online communities of shoe painters (naturally, the Internet has a community for everything), but most people have never seen a pair of sweet custom kicks.

This method uses Angelus Leather Paint, which is known as a quality acrylic leather paint. It stays flexible, comes in a range of colors and for once, it's cheap! These instructions would work well on most natural leather items such as purses, wallets, BDSM clothing, etc. It is not designed for suede or other textured leathers.

To learn how to paint leather shoes it is a 3-step process:

• Prepare the leather by removing existing polishes and coatings with acetone.
• Paint leather with Angelus paints.
• Finish with an Acrylic Finisher for a glossy or matte finish.

You will need:

• Acetone to remove existing coatings (available at hardware stores): Polish remover is NOT recommended.
• Angelus Leather Paint (available from many online craft suppliers. I recommend Dharma Trading Company.
• Q Tips Swabs
• Paper towels
• Masking tape (quality is important – get good blue tape or superior green “frog tape”)
• Painting brushes of various sizes.
• A shoe.

Learn how to paint leather shoes step by step:

Step 1: Prepare the shoe

• Prepare the shoe by washing any dirt or grime from the shoe.
• Then mask off any areas you don't want to paint. The quality of the masking tape is important - use a good blue 3M tape or the fancier green frog tape for clean lines. In this case, I masked the area above where I will paint, because the shape of the leather and the size of my brushes will allow me to avoid painting the brogue.
• In a well-ventilated area, use the acetone to remove any existing coating or polish. Use Q-tips and paper towels to scrub exposed areas. It should take on an opaque appearance. Keep cleaning with acetone until you no longer see the shine on your towels! This step is crucial for good adhesion!

Step 2: Paint the shoes

• Painting the shoes is simple. Angelus paints have good coverage and are easy to work with. When applying light colors over dark leather, expect to use multiple coats. I had to use 5 coats to cover the black leather with white paint, but other colors usually work well with 2-3 coats. Let the paint dry between coats, I recommend at least 20 minutes. As with most paints, several thin coats are better than one thick one!
• After your last coat, carefully remove the masking tape. Do not allow the paint to dry completely before removing the tape; You want the slightly wet paint to "flow" a little, which makes the edge smoother. You also don't want the tape to tear through completely dried paint when removed.
• On its own, Angelus paint has a semi-gloss appearance. This can be made more matte by adding Angelus Duller directly to the paint itself (~4.5 ml per ounce of paint).

Step 3: Result

• Angelus paints come out semi-gloss by default. For a glossy look, let the paint dry completely and apply Angelus Finisher. It has the consistency of diluted milk and is brushed liberally over the paint. Allow to dry completely, at least 24 hours, before wearing the shoes.

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