Keep it up guys some top stuff here. Just a couple of basic questions: how do you get to the stage where you know what to do? Does it involve a lot of trial and error on boots that you had lying around - seems a risky job on expensive pairs of boots. Also, rather than starting a new thread - has anyone done repairs to their boots or had them done by someone rather than buying new ones. I would imagine that some problems that make a boot unusable could actually be sorted with a bit of TLC but perhaps it depends on whether it's worth it?
Well everyone who has done an article has given it a go, mostly on old boots. I've got personalised tongues on my Vapor IIIs (more to come later) but it's mainly logical stuff. Obviously it's up to you if you want to risk it, but these are the results people who did take the risk got! The first time I restudded my Vapor II's four of them fell out during a game, so I rethought my method, and posted the one that has now worked. What sort of repairs were you thinking, what has happened to the boot?
Well nothing specific - it's just my last 3 pairs of Adidas boots have always broke on the heel from twisting. Not sure if its a case of the glue losing its quality as a result of wear or whether it's the way I turn, or a combination of the two. However, I've not put it down to chance so I now own a pair of Hummel 4.2s, which are a very wide fit I might add. When I get home in a couple of weeks I'm going to dig out these old broken boots and have a proper look at how they're constructed - an autopsy if you will.
I've got a pair of Umbro X-boot III's and inside were the cross is near the back there is a flappy bit which kept giving me blisters so i used a pair of normal socks and then footy socks over the top that worked for a while but i still kept getting blisters so i used super glue to stick them down and now i only need 1 pair of sock so my tip is if there is any part of your foot that has blisters from your boots look at tha part of the boot and super glue it down. it worked for me.
just wondering... why would you remove the Nike studs and put the ones that you put on. I know Ronaldo and co where them but is it just to make the boot special or different or does it actualy help?
#1 The NikeSnap tips wear down quickly. On all my Vapors/Vapor IIs, not one pair has had tips that have lasted 6 months, let alone a season. #2 If the NikeSnap tips are not removed before it's too late, they get stuck in the holes. Then you are left with a pair of boots that are useless, as the studs that are left are shorter than FG boots - therefore defying their status as SG. #3 A lot of the pitches I play on are crap. The lengthened studs give excellent grip when starting sprints and jumping for balls. Here is an example of how my boots look after a better week - Here is the sole - bear in mind that the left is after banging the boots profusely for a good minute - There was about a centimetre and a half of mud previously, and for most of the match you can only see the tips of the studs - Besides, Nike liked the idea of my studs so much they stole it and put them on the Vapor III!
Just a bit of advice please. I followed juventus_supporter's guide on my Pulses, and they came out well at first, but as soon as i put any pressure on the leather (i.e. when I went to put the laces back in), the paint started coming off straight away. This obviously means it'll start coming off completely if I was to actually kick a ball with them. Does anyone have any idea of how to 'lock' the paint onto the boot? I used the protective spray mentioned in juventus_supporter's guide. This is how they came out:
Can I ask, what paint did you use, how many coats have you done and how long have they dried for? Also what protective spray did you use?
I used a satin matt craft spray, made by a company called Colourfull Arts. I applied 4 coats, in the manner suggested in the guide, and let them dry according to the guide as well (hour at a time, then left overnight before the 4th coat). I used Punch Super Protector, from JJB.
Hmmm, ok. I assume that you blowdried them to heat the leather up? If so, leave it for a couple of days then give it another coat to touch it up. I'm not sure exactly what craft spray Juventus used, but I will try to find out. Maybe it might be the paint that is the problem. I will get back to you mate.
Killer - those pulses look absolutely SWEET... let us know how you fix the cracking... because I'm inspired to do my SG's in royal rather than gold now.. they would look so sweet with my club kit.
wear rubber gloves and get a rag and scrub the leather with acetone to take off the wax and clean the leather (the color of the leather will/might look worn after the treatment), let dry then apply the first coat of leather paint/dye, let dry, then repeat until satisfied. take your time and let it dry in a cool area
PERSONALISED VAPOR TONGUES Since people have been BUGGING ME about writing up this tutorial I will get it out the way. There are two ways you can personalise your boots - the easy way and the complicated way. They both have good effect, but obviously the more complicated one has a more professional look - remember with everything you get out what you put into it, so if you want a long-term solution try the second one. THE EASY WAY You will need 1x acrylic paint in appropriate colour 1x sponge paintbrush 1x thin paint pen in appropriate color Masking tape 1) Mask off the area surrounding the tongues, showing only the area that will be personalised. 2) Using the sponge paintbrush, LIGHTLY coat the area with paint. The first coat does not matter too much, just make sure the whole area is covered in paint. I recommend using a sponge brush as it gives a more even covering as it soaks up the paint, but a normal paint brush is fine as well. 3) You need to do a few coats after each one has fully dried, but remember if you have R9 Vapors it will never be totally flat as the logo is depressed. What you want is minimal kinks so the stencilling will not go wonky. When you are done it should look like this - you can see the R9 logo as this is only after 2 coats: 4) Stencil your personalisation on, leave it to dry and you're away! If you want you can spray a thin coat of glue mixed with water, or some shoe protector, on top of it to give it some extra protection. It will mess up at some stage so you can just go over it again when this happens. THE LONGER WAY Simply put, follow the instructions for the Predator tongues I posted earlier. The back logos come off in the same manner so cut out the same shape, personalise, then stitch/glue on. I have personalised the front tongues on the Vapors before, but I haven't got a foolproof method for doing it at the moment (its totally risky of messing your boots up) so I will leave this for the time being. When I can give you a less risky method for it I will post it.
i also have personalised tounges on my vaps. didnt take long and wasnt hard all you have to do is get an edding ( i used bic permanent marker) and color the tounge. I at frist thought it wopuld go away easily but ive played about 7 times , 2 in rain, and it stayed http://www.flickr.com/photos/12116805@N00/523450733/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/12116805@N00/523450735/in/photostream/
hey when you say stencil on w/e you want, is there a place where you buy a certain stencil, or did you somehow make it yourself?
Well you have those plastic stencils like these: Puts a more professional look than doing it freehand - you just write in between the lines and its there.
What about Legends? I want to customize the tounge but with stitching not paint and stencils etc. do I have to go thru that seperating the upper and lower as with the absolutes or cant it just be stitched thru the whole thing? Dont they have some type of places where you could just go and get it done quickly (not soccer.com or worldsoccershop)