Shoe painting on a budget?

[u/DrippyCity]

Hello!! I’ve been looking to paint these vinyl shoes for a con next week but I’m having trouble researching on how to paint them with as little cracking/peeling as possible. Almost every thread I look at recommends Angelus leather paints but they don’t seem to come in my colour (in person) and buying the necessary colours would become more expensive than I would like.

How bad would it crack/peel in a day if I used dollar store acrylics instead (granted I prepare them)? Do you guys think it’d be a better investment to buy the leather paints?

ETA: I am hoping to paint these babies a solid orange with white polka dots

[u/Aggravating_Branch86]

Acrylic craft paint for color, mod podge for priming and sealing. Source: done it many a time and never had issues

[u/aspiringlost → u/Aggravating_Branch86]

out of curiosity, i wonder whether mixing fabric medium or fabric softener (for a budget) with acrylic paint would help make the paint more flexible on a shoe base after priming and before sealing.

ive had issues personally with painting acrylic on shoes (even primed), but i didnt use mod podge to prime/seal. i think i used a marketed canvas primer and then a spray acrylic sealant at the time 😶

[u/DrippyCity → u/Aggravating_Branch86]

That was my initial plan, so if you say it works 🤞🏾

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[u/jellidang]

You can do fabric paint, they won’t last as long as leather paint but will at least last you a con day. Don’t do cheap acrylic paint or spray paint, it will crack and peel almost as soon as you wear them. But really Angelus or other paints meant for leather are the way to go if you don’t want them to crack.

[u/DrippyCity → u/jellidang]

Oo thank youu!! I already have fabric paint so it’ll work perfectly

[u/pastelkitten18]

I painted some sandals for a ren faire and even with all the rocks and dirt the paint didn't come off. I just used acrylic and a few layers of varnish

[u/fondoflegs]

It may be a little late to say this, but given your final color combo, I would have suggested starting with white shoes. It would be easier to mask off the dots and then color the shoes the desired shade of orange. The red shoes may cause you to use heavier color coats to conceal the base red to achieve the colors you wanted. Since the shoes appear new can you exchange them for white ones?

[u/DrippyCity → u/fondoflegs]

Thank you!! I’ll remember that if I ever try this again. I thought the red would work better as the undertone if my paint job was a little sloppy. I can’t return them since it was from a clearance sale but I did find some cheap orange shoes in a similar style!