Spray painting boots

Hey if my boots are black and I want to spray paint them brown do I have to put a primer on the boots or do I just spray the brown on? Also what type of spray paint should i use? Somehow i don't think plastic or metal spray paint will work well.

 

You're right -- regular spray paint will not work very well.

You might want to take a look at page three of the Basic Costuming tips thread. There's brief, but pertinent discussion of spraying shoes.

It also covers a wide variety of other topics, and is worth a read.

 

Or, if they are leather... gret the spray on leather dye... a little more permanent...

 

i painted our first snowtrooper boots white and the paint flaked off prety fast .

 

Painted snow Trooper boots??... Aren't Mukluks are in every surplus in Canada?... *hehe*

 

what i want to spray paint is the Cavett black boots. I want to make them brown for my jedi outfit so what is the best way to go about it?

 

Don't buy black boots. Paints won't stay on and it's already to dark to dye.

 

does someone know of a place to buy cheap brown boots?

 

You can get away with spray painting them if you use acetone first to strip off the waxy coating from the original polish. We used to do it all the time when putting on theatre productions and needed a quickie change of color. It isn't the best option, but it does the job, and unless you're in a costume contest, I wouldn't sweat it. Most Jedi's boots should look like they've been well used, right? I would also suggest using a good name brand of paint, like Krylon. the biggest thing is prepping the surface (like any paintjob) before painting. If they are too glossy, you can spray a matte clearcoat over them, or just buff them with a rough rag to knock the shine down.

Like I said, this isn't the best option, but it can be serviceable, if not fairly durable. If you scuff the paint, just do a little touch-up with the spray can. I wouldn't do it to a pair of expensive black boots-- Sell them and find another pair!

 

Hmmmm... aren't the Cadett boots a sort of plasti-vinyl? I wonder if Krylon Fusion, the paint that's made to bond with plastics on a molecular level, would work.

 

I have read something of a new Krylon that is for painting PVC-- a notoriously hard to paint plastic. That would probably be the ticket for painting them then.

 

The Krylon was great for painting my Black amp white... And it actually reads on the can a huge list of other materials...

 

Can i buy this Krylon paint at a local hardware store?

 

You know.. I don't know... I get mine from Canadian Tire...

 

Yes!

Here is the Krylon store locator page.

 

It is called Krylon Fusion. I was at the local Meijer yesterday, and they had tons of it, all sorts of colors. I wonder what the grain size is of this stuff, if it is comparable to Duplicolor auto paints. Hmmm... (pondering the possibilities)

 

The Krylon fusion should bond to about anything. I used it on Teflon washers without a problem.

 

Good to know thanks!

 

I used it on Teflon washers without a problem.

Teflon washers will have a lot less flexing than leather boots will. It's the flexing that will cause cracking in the paint.

 

i have been dealing with boots for years. when i was in the service we used to paint our boots gloss black for inspections [i worked in the paint shop, so our boots were always spotted with many colors of paint. it eventually destroys the leather.

plastic, vinyl or painted boots also have one other problem...they dont breathe. this is ok for limited periods and for working in water. but you wouldnt want to wear them for any length of time, or in hot weather.

i modified a pair of ren-faire boots for my first jedi boots. after my feet got blisters, i opted for custom made boots. there is a place where you can get good looking jedi boots for around $160 if you want to know more PM me.

 

Your cheapest option is to go much the same route as George did --- if you were at Celebration I the Obi-wan and Qui-Gon boots were on display. They were actually a shoe with thigh-high spats. Very simple to do. Find the shoes (or men's dress boots) in a thrift store. And it you'd rather not have the spats separate (made from pleather - a soft, durable leather-like vinyl), ask a cobbler to attach them. It won't cost you an arm and a leg.

 

Actually thats a bit incorrect. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had riding/military boots. They thing Obi's were a tanker boot with the straps and spat covering the laces/zipper etc. Mace on the other hand used motorcycle boots with an added top detail to make them longer and a strap in the middle.

They weren't shoes though.

 

I took photos at Celebration One. Were you there? From what I could see in the display case, they looked like shoes and spats.

At any rate, unless you really want to spend mega bucks (over $200 on an average), the route I mentioned is your cheapest bet and you can make a credible pair of boots in this fashion.

 

Uh...I don't have to have being at Celebration One as a leeway into proving something. The fact is Obi-Wan had a similar if not exact same boot as Qui-Gon did, just a differnt bit of add ons. They are a whole boot you can tell not only from the sole but aslo the shape of the toe and the seam on the sides. Like I said some think its a tank boot. Its a whole boot, no shoes.

As for cheapest way to make your own boot, yeah! And if you spend some serious time on them it would look amazing. However nothings wrong with buying your boots either, like my Anakin ones.

 

Peace, my brothers, peace.

It's quite possible you are both right, as some of the tour pieces are replicas or secondary (distance) screen-used props. There are always discrepancies in the world of props. Just like Vader's multiple sabers in ROTJ, they don't really care as long as it looks good onscreen.