- Apr 7, 2002
- 5,907
- 1,952
I've noticed a few sneaker care/maintenance threads popping up in this forum as of late, since the official post was lost when theswitch to Yuku occurred. I did some searching and was able to find ijapino's great post, so here it is...
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With the success the last care/maintenance thread had, chernabog915 and I have decided to start a new page of cleaning tips.
Because so many questions get asked every day on how to clean and care for your kicks, we've decided to compile as much useful information as possible intoone giant post.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
With the success the last care/maintenance thread had, chernabog915 and I have decided to start a new page of cleaning tips.
Because so many questions get asked every day on how to clean and care for your kicks, we've decided to compile as much useful information as possible intoone giant post.
Personally, I've grown extremely tired of spending all day in class pouring over medical books, to come home and read the same, STUPID questions because people start at the end of the book, not the front. This isn't like a country song you play backwards, where your wife comes back, the dog comes back, the truck is repaired and the crops grow. Out of the previous 3 or 4 pages I tried to look over, almost every single question directed at me was something I had covered not only on page one, but 4 or 5 times at some point in 6 weeks that post was up. Obviously, those of you have contacted me through NT or my email know at almost the drop of a hat, the email leaves your box, and gets a response back almost immediately. I don't mind being helpful, but don't mistake your laziness and inability to read as an emergency and drop everything and help you on my part, ijapino's, or the other's who've helped make this post useful. I have edited, cut and pasted, and copied a large portion of what was up, and re-edited a lot of what I have to say, and even broken it down shoe by shoe. This has taken me nearly 2 weeks of MY time to do it. No one asked me to do it. ijapino didn't ask if I would do this. I did this out of my own free time, just like when this post was first started, because I was interested in helping, and was getting really sore laughing my but off at how stupid some people were willing to be in taking care of shoes. At the bottom of this opus, you can read WHY I know what I do, and where my background comes from on preservation and restoration of collectibles. I am hoping in doing this, it cuts down on the repetitive questions to this post, and let's me enjoy helping people with different questions, instead of the same ones 49 times a week. I am also hoping that ijapino takes my suggestion that any repeat offenders, or offenders in general, on asking questions CLEARLY stated in the following list are just simply kicked of the site. We are all here to help one another. Abusing someone else's generosity and graciousness isn't going to work in this thread anymore. You can either find the most common questions here on this page, or you can simply go jump in mud puddles.
-chernabog915
CLEANING ADVICE
1) Household items such as Soap & Water is always a good start when you don't have any cleaning supplies handy. Use an oldtoothbrush to scrub away dirt, grime or any other crud buildup. You might have to put in a lot of elbow grease to really get the job done, but it's astart. Other house hold items to use for cleaning shoes include: babywipes, ajax or comet, and also windex. However, with ANY cleaning products, please use atyour own risk. Try and clean a small area first so you won't ruin your entire shoe.
2) Shoe store cleaners can be a lil pricey but work well when used properly. I like to wipe off any dust or dirt off as much as I can withoutusing the cleaner first. After I've gone through the initial wiping, I'll apply the cleaner to the spotted area and scrub it using the included capbrush. After the foam or gel dissolves, I'll wipe the residue off with a damp wash cloth. Cleaners can be purchased at just about any grocery store as wellas any shoe store. They'll come in different varieties, but most of 'em all do the same trick. Follow the instructions on the bottle and you should befine.
3) For dusty shoes (dust on suede or nubuck or for the hard to reach places such as the air bubble window or in between shox columns.) I liketo use "Dust off". It's basically compressed air in a can, usually used for electronic products like VCR's and keyboards. However, it worksGREAT on kicks! The Air will BLAST away any dust buildup that's hard to reach!
4) For LIGHT SCUFF MARKS (Not scratches) I reccomend Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Easy to use and pretty cheap. Just add a smallamount of water to the sponge and wipe away the unwanted marks left on your shoes!
5) If you have unpleasant stains or marks on your shoes, go get yourself a bottle of "Goof Off". This product willwipe just about anything off the shoe! BE CAREFUL THOUGH! It's probably a step down from straight acid! I'll use an old wash cloth or towel, and dip itinto a small amount of goof off and then rub away the unwanted spot or stain. Afterwards I'll wipe the spot over with a dampened (water) wash cloth todilute any goof off residue that may be left behind. Goof Off also works well on clear soles! If used properly, you can keep your shoes "icy" lookinga lot LONGER!
MAINTENANCE
Other than cleaning your shoes on a regular basis, these tips will help you maintain that "new" look to your shoes.
1) Store your shoes in a cool, dry place. Keeping them out of sunlight and dust will help you maintain the shoes looking good for when you're ready to wearthem. There's nothing worse than opening a box of shoes you had been storing for a long time only to find out they've yellowed due to the fact thatthey've been dried out and stored next to the heater!
1a) I know some people like to display their shoes like trophies, but this can also be a bad thing. Direct and constant light tends to dry out the shoescausing materials to break down and yellow.
2) Silica packets help by taking moisture out of the air. Moisture will eventually ruin your shoes. It's recommended that a couple small ones be placed inthe box. eBay is a really good source to buy silica packets. Another suggestion is hit up your local electronics store. Ask them and their delivery guys togive you the little packs that fall out of boxes. Tell them to just put a tiny box somewhere and toss them in, and give them $5 at the end of the week or whenthe box is full.
Go to Autozone, Checker, Shucks, Kragen, pep Boys, Wal-Mart and go to the wash/finishing department. You will find 4 different types of Armor All. A blue onefor windows - you don't want that. There is a brown one for leather, a purple one for all purpose cleaning, and a yellow one for UV protection. Those 3come in spray bottles or presoaked wipes. Every pair of Jordans or anything else I get, I use the brown bottle first, and seal it with the yellow. After I wearthem, I clean the midsoles and anything dirty with the purple ones, and then maybe wipe them down with the brown if they really need it. You can spend lessthan $20 on those 3 huge bottles of Armor All and the stuff will last you several hundred cleanings.
ARMOR ALL INSTRUCTIONS
OK, there are 3 types of Armor All to buy. The brown bottle is an actual Armor All for leather. The Purple Bottle is a cleaner. Theyellow is a UV protectant.
There are two ways to buy these: Spray and Wipes. Personally, I prefer the spray for the Brown and the Yellow bottles, because it?s more cost effective, and Ican make the bottles last for years. The Purple Cleaning Armor All, I do get the wipes because leaving a carton of those by the door when I come in is easierto pull one out, wipe the shoe down, and then throw the wipe away and then put the shoes up.
Here's the interesting thing: I have silica packs in each shoe box, i.e. to remove the moisture from the air. It seems to do wonders of removing the sweatfrom the shoes, but not the moisture in the shoes or the leather. 4 years, and nothing wrong with any of them. Also, I have a giant thing of Damp Rid in thecloset to help control the humidity. Same thing, I think it helps keep the external moisture low. I live in a desert, and I still have moisture problems.
The WORST things to use on shoes are: Glass Cleaner, Rubbing Alcohol, any kind of cleaner with bleach in it, anything with abrasive cleaners, such as borax, onthe leather especially. Glass cleaner has ammonia in it, and even the ones that say ammonia free have a type of drying agent in them that will literally drythe leather right out. Alcohol is an astringent that will do exactly the same thing. Bleach, for obvious reasons, is just a bad idea in general. You can useAjax to scrub the midsoles using a toothbrush, but be careful not to get it on the leather when scrubbing. It?s an abrasive, even though it?s mild, you canscratch the leather of the shoes.
Those of you with XI's, there is a product called Black Magic Tire Wet Tire Wet that will make patent leather practically glow. There's no website Ican find for these guys, but I know they carry it at Autozone's around here. This is NOT something you want to spray directly on the shoe. Spray it on arag and then apply it to the leather, and only the PATENT leather. The stuff is EXTREMELY slippery, and I can guarantee, you get it on the soles and forget towipe it off, you are going to royally bust your butt when you walk.
Also, a cleaning note I am sure a LOT of people are missing: Under the laces, especially on mid's around where you cinch, tighten, the laces through thetop eyelets. Pay especially close attention to these areas when you come home. The laces pick up a ton of dirt, rub in those areas, and if you leave it longenough, it will stain.
ISLAND GIRL PRODUCTS SEA GLOW INSTRUCTIONS
TO TREAT SYNTHETIC RUBBER WHITE/CLEAR SOLES PLEASE FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Replace shipping cap with the "flip top" dispensing cap to control spills and product wastage.
2. Apply to the area being treated and spread over surface with paper towel-BUT AVOID GLUED SEAMS! (If product comes in contact with seams wipe off immediatelywith water wetted paper towel.)
3. Use the scuff pad to work product into the surface. Then remove any surface oxidation (yellow in color) with paper towel soaked in more SEA GLOW? ( this"draws up" oxidation and stains into paper towel).
4. Place the shoes so that daylight or (even better) bright sunlight can reach the soles and react with the flourescing agent in SEA GLOW? - this is whatneutralizes the deep seated yellowing.
5. Most of the yellowing is deeper down in the synthetic rubber and the SEA GLOW? has to soak down into these areas in order to neutralize the yellowing. Inbad cases, one may have to soak for an hour or more with SEA GLOW?, ideally in bright sunlight.
6. AT THE END, ALWAYS REMOVE AND NEUTRALIZE THE SEA GLOW? REMAINING ON THE SURFACE BY WIPING OVER WITH WATER-WETTED PAPER TOWEL - WIPE DRY. IF SEA GLOW? DRIESON THE SURFACE, REMOVE WITH SOME FRESH PRODUCT AND THEN DEACTIVATE WITH WATER AND WIPE DRY.
7. If you want to seal the surface afterwards contact us for the appropriate product to use 1-800-441-4425 or 1-877-434-2089.
Instructions for individual shoes and what you need to clean them:
AJI: Armor All, all 3, Bissell bathroom cleaner, Ajax, and Oxy-clean powder or spray.
Remove the laces of the shoes. Use the Oxy-clean directly on the tongue itself. If you use the powder Oxy-clean, you need to mix half water, half powder tomake a paste. Apply it to the tongue, and let it absorb in. Use a dry rag to brush it off. You can use the Bissell bathroom cleaner on the midsole, or Ajaxwith a toothbrush. Spray the bathroom cleaner into the cap of the cleaner, or a small bowl, and use the toothbrush to apply it. Do not spray the cleanerdirectly on the shoe. You can also do this for the soles of the shoe, and use a hard bristle brush to scrub the soles. After all the dirt and discoloration isoff, you can then use the Armor All as stated above.
AJII: Same as Air Jordan I.
AJIII: These require more care. As most people have already seen, the midsoles on III's are extremely sensitive and tend to 'rot' over to bonewhite just by looking at them. Until I get a new pair of III's, I have no concrete answer on preserving them. As far as cleaning, it's the same as theprevious shoes. Don't use a hard toothbrush on the print, just spray some cleaner on the print, and use a dry rag to absorb it out. The leather tongue, usethe Cleaning Armor All to clean the tongue, not the Oxy-clean.
AJIV: Same as before. For the mesh, Oxy-clean and a toothbrush to scrub the staining out underneath the mesh. Same for the tongue. No heavy abrasives on themidsole. Use the bathroom cleaner rather than the Ajax. Abrasion on the midsole will start to make these peal and crack.
AJV: Obviously, Sea Glow is something to keep on stock on these, especially the newer models. The nubuck and suede's of these need different attention. Geta very gentle, but short hair suede/nubuck brush to clean the toe boxes and heels. For prevention, you can load up on the Yellow Armor All, on the mesh, andthe soles. If the shoes are already yellowing, Sea Glow is the best bet on bringing it back, and you can read the instructions above.
AJVI: Another lovely shoe with leather or nubuck blends, worse so on the Infrared's, Olympics and Carmine's. Treat this the same way as the V?s.Prevention is best, but once the soles start to turn, time to lay out $22 for Sea Glow plus delivery.
AJVII: Nubuck/leather again. For the white/light colored shoes, use the Oxy-clean on the tongue, removing the laces. Midsoles on this, especially the whiteshoes, CAN peel and turn bone white. To prevent, heavy application of Armor All. If already bone white or turning, get a sanding block, 1500 grit or higher.You are trying to lightly scrub off the yellowing, not reform the shoe. A light, light sanding will help get the yellow of, and get you down to the white coloragain. After that, get 2 or 3 coats of Armor All on.
AJVIII: I hate this shoe. It's bulky, too many materials, and a pain to keep clean. The midsoles turn bone white. Sanding is the best cure next toprevention. The pods in the ankles are nubuck/suede, so use the cleaner but a dry rag to absorb out. The tabs around the heel are plastic so you can use theYellow Armor All on them, as well as the rest of the shoe.
AJIX: Nubuck. Leather. Patent Leather. Peeling paint on retros. This shoe isn't fun either. The tongue can be done with Oxy-clean to get the yellowing outon the lighter colored shoes. The midsoles also turn yellowish as well. Sanding after they?ve turned, prevention beforehand. No abrasives on this shoe. Yourisk scratching the patent leather, or the nubuck.
AJX: Fairly easy to keep clean. The midsoles are super soft, so you do need to keep these moist. General application of Armor All as usual on these. Don'tuse abrasives on the midsoles. They are too soft, and the bathroom cleaner works better.
AJXI: The holiest of holies. We all want them. We all have them. And we all have heart attacks when something gets near them. The overall shoe, you can cleanwith Armor All. The upper mesh, Barkeeper's Friend. The patent leather, Black Magic Tire Wet. This stuff leaves the patent leather basically looking likeglass, but it's also slippery, so don't get it on the soles.
AJXII: Another shoe I despise. The colored soles leave major scuff marks on the white midsoles and the uppers. Once you start seeing the scuffs, you need topretty much plan on using the bathroom cleaner method here, but use a rag more so than a toothbrush. Just spray in a bowl, and scrub with the rag. Otherwise,these can be cleaned as normal
AJXIII: For these, there are 3 materials to worry about on the shoes. The funky suedish material on the midsoles, the meshy upper on some, the leather onothers, and the plastic hologram. I think in regards to the hologram, someone has mentioned a hair dryer, but let me know if I was wrong about that. Thesuedish material on the midsole, and everything else, you can use Armor All on, just beware the material on the midsoles can rip, so don't go all crazyscrubbing with a harsh brush on it.
AJXIV: Vented sides. Non-vented sides. Nubuck. Crappy nubuck. Leather. Suede. How many models of one shoe can you make with 38 different materials? For these,if you can't get a brush into the vents to clean out, take the midsole out, and used compressed air to get the lint and dirt out of the inlets. Otherwise,a soft brush for the non-leather versions, and Armor All on everything else.
AJXV: Not much here. Just use Armor All like anything else.
AJXVI: Time to get in touch with your Island Girl Sea Glow again. Clear soles means someone's shoes look like they didn?t make it to the bathroom. Thesethings yellow, and they yellow ugly. Worse, the gaiter strap on some versions yellows too. The patent leather toe, you can use the Black Magic Tire Wet on. Thegaiters and the shoes themselves, use the Armor All. The sides under the gaiters, use a soft toothbrush and Armor All.
AJXVII: Gaiters, I hate gaiters. Not only was this an even more stupid idea than the XVI, it actually causes more damage to the shoe getting them on or off.The gaiter itself, you can just use a wipe on the leather sides and compressed air to blow out the spandex section. The rest of the shoe, you can clean withArmor All as usual.
AJXVIII: Leather or suede? Suede, thankfully, they included the handy dandy brush. And thankfully, I managed to pilfer one from a store when I tried them on.Leather, you can pretty much Armor All these as usual.
AJXIX: This s where I started pretreating all new Jordans I bought. The clear mesh on the strap and the soles was why I decided to do it. And as of today, theystill look brand new. The crummy part of this shoe is the actual Velcro though. It will catch on the fabric on the back and pull it apart. The patent leather,use Black Magic Tire Wet. The rest, Armor All. Midsoles, bathroom cleaner.
AJXX: Another twofer on materials. I have the stealths and the anniversary shoe, not the quickstrikes or regionals. I know those are more or less jus simpleleather and lasering. Even with the lasering on all the shoes, you can still Armor All them. Bare in mind however, the lasering is actually cutting IN TO theleather, and then peeling the unneeded leather out to produce the image. Think CAREFULLY about that when you try scrubbing the tops of the lasering off, andthe leather images come with it. Bathroom cleaner on the midsoles works very well, and just Armor All on the leather and Black Magic Tire Wet on the patentleather works well.
AJXXI: Still got your little suede brush? Were you brave enough to buy Bozo the Clown red shoes? Well, for those of you who did, congratulations! You need thebrush for the red suede, as well as the charcoal suedes. I know a LOT of these came straight out of the box with the toes scraped, so with the brush, you tendto have to do a bad combover on the toes to get them to look ok. As far as the others, bathroom cleaner on the midsoles, and Armor All like usual.
AJXXII: No, I don't have these in hand yet, and if my student loan comes in, I?ll get the basketball shoes as well as the white ones. Looking at the whiteones online, the pattern on the sole is going to require a toothbrush and the bathroom cleaner method, I can already tell. The sides appear to be suede/nubuck,so no cleaning issues there. The basketball ones, I can already tell are going to require saddle soap to clean them, and real light application of Armor All.The leather in shoes is much more pliable, but thinner, than basketball leather. That leather will be thicker, and require more time to get the Armor All tosoak in and penetrate the shoes.
If you look over everything there, you're going to notice a common theme: Care, maintenance, common sense, patience. You cannot do an entire shoe in 10minutes and where it out immediately afterwards. Armor All needs time to absorb into the shoes, and to cure into the soles. Plus I don't want a lawyerknocking on my door because Two Tooth Tony slipped down a flight of stairs for putting Armor All on his soles.
Stop your sneakers from creasing the official Do It Yourself Guide
By ?chef? of Gourmetkickz
Hey guys, I know I am newb here, but I have been a member of other forums for a while. I recently applied for a patent on a device thatstops kicks from creasing. instead of just jumping online and trying to make a quick buck, I decided to let the sneaker community be the judge of how valuablemy invention is.
the following is a BASIC way to make one on your own out of household items. it's actually very effective. I have some factory produced samples on the way.I want to give them out to people who are willing to try it out and leave feedback online.
read the guide and u will find the info to get a factory produced sample. if the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, then I will work with a manufacturer tomass produce it, and see about selling it in stores.
I hope this post is in the right place, I don't want to make a mistake in my first few posts on Nike talk. this tutorial has been stickied on ISS, onNikeSB, and on a couple other forums. so I wanted to share it with niketalk.
any questions, email me [email protected]
Tired of your kicks creasing after the first couple of wears? Me too!
As a sneaker collector and customizer with 4 + years in the game, I have been trying different methods over the years to find a fool proof way to stop my kicksfrom creasing.
There is no need to spend money on gel inserts, or items that will immobilize the whole front of your shoe like a clog. The solution is much easier than all ofthose complicated solutions. First I will show u a picture of the solution, and then I will take the time to explain why it works so well. Oh yea, and the bestpart, ITS FREE!!!!
I CREATED THIS DEVICE SO THAT I COULD ROCK HEAT WITHOUT HAVING CREASES FORM. I WANTED 100% COMFORT, 100% MOBILITY, AND 100% EFFECTIVENESS. THE FOLLOWINGTUTORIAL SHOWS YOU HOW TO CREATE A DEVICE THAT MEETS ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS. AGAIN, THIS IS MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE CULTURE.
Ok so here is the component that prevents creases:
Simple isn't it? LOL But it works!
Here is what you will need for construction and installation.
Supplies:
1. Piece of thin semi-rigid plastic this large enough to cut out a shape similar to the toebox of an AF1. (I used an empty canister of protein shake mix)
2. Elmer's Craft Bond Multi-purpose spray adhesive. OR double sided tape.
3. Scissors.
Directions:
1. Cut out a shape that is just a little larger than the toebox of your AF1's
2. Be sure to cut out a notch so the piece can fit on the underside of the toebox and catch the tip of the tongue so it will 'lock' into place.
3. Now for the install! Undo your laces enough so you can get your hand inside the shoe.
4. Adhere double sided tape to the part of the cutout that will come into contact with the sockliner directly under the toebox. Or spray the same side of thecutout with a thin quick coat of Elmer's Craft Bond.
5. Place the cutout inside the shoe and adhere it to the underside of the toebox, being sure to position the notch so it catches just under the flap where thetongue is sewn into the sockliner.
6. Hold the cutout in place with firm pressure so the glue does its job. If you like, instead of applying pressure by hand, just slip the insert that comeswith the shoe back in to force the cutout against the sockliner.
7. You are done!
Here are some diagrams to help you out.
If you had x-ray vision and looked down at your kicks after the cutout is installed, this is how it would look!
If you were inside of your sneaker, laying with your back on the insole looking up at the toebox, this is how it would look after the install.
Now for a slight tweak for added toe box rigidity!
If you want to be 100000000% sure that the toebox is not going to crease at all, just perform this slight tweak to the cutout and it's a wrap!
The "legs" as pictured above will help provide support and rigidity to the toebox while walking without causing u to have to walk different orflat-footed! YOU CAN WALK 100% NORMAL WITH THESE INSTALLED.
here is a picture of the inside of my sneakers with the cutout installed with the support "legs". (my cutout is made of blue plastic in this shoe)
so as u can see, the legs curve with the frontal portion of the sneakers, and rest in the edge where the insole meets the frontal leather. by the"legs" wedging into this portion, it transfers the force from walking across the top of the cutout without the leather creasing.
Now for the results! something I am SURE you have all been anxious to see!
Jean Stains:
I still laugh just hearing about this. I don't buy anything other than Levi's Silver Tabs, so I've never dealt with it. Goingagainst what I said earlier, if this is a major problem, use rubbing alcohol to quickly get the staining out, using a rag and the alcohol. Don't pour thealcohol directly onto the shoes. After you get the stains out, immediately reapply Armor All back on the leather to get as much moisture as you can back in.
Storage Solutions:
The over-packing and repainting windows in a room black and putting the closet on a separate air
conditioning system and making a bubble out of everything is getting insane.
1) Shoes are made of pliable material. To be pliable, they must have some form of moisture in the material to remain that way. Sealing them in plastic bags,and adding silica packs, which REMOVES the moisture from the shoes, is going to literally ruin the shoes.
2) Shoes, if they dry out, are going to crack when you wear them. Everyone crying about creasing this and cracking that, it's because you aren't takingpreventive measures beforehand to wearing them. I live in the desert, and really worried about a lot of people getting the Mars early, and talking about itcreasing badly. So I doused mine with Armor All, and let them sure a day or two before wearing them, and have had no more creasing in them than any other shoeI've bought.
3) Keeping them out of direct sunlight or large sources of heat are about the best solutions to dead stocking them. Hermetically sealing them away from all theelements and leaving them in the closet is simply going to leave you with rotted out shoes or cracked ones the first time someone wears them. Yes, a silicapack is a good idea to help control moisture, but that's if you WEAR them, and are actually increasing the amount of moisture present around the shoe.Sealing a breathable material in an airtight bag with a silica packet, you might as well douse them in lighter fluid and toss a match in the box, becausethey're going to be ruined regardless.
4) I think everyone is overdoing the silica pack-and-replace every 6 weeks bit too. They're designed to last longer than people think. I'm using damprid in the closet, which I think is a lot smarter than a 10 gram bag of silica in the box next to the shoe. With the Damp Rid, it's in a container, removesmoisture from the air, and isn't sitting on top of a shoe. You realize that what a silica pack does is absorbs the moisture around it, but what happenswhen it can't absorb more? It leaks, all over what's next to it. Just get a $5 quart sized container of damp rid, and use the canister it provides, andleave it near the bottom of the closet where it can't be kicked over.
Friends don't let friend's throw rare, vintage sneakers in the dryer:
SO A FRIEND OF MINE FOUND THESE OG 9Z & 10Z UNDER HIS BED AND HE SOLD THEM TO ME. I THREW THEM IN THE WASHING MACHINE AND THE 10Z ARE FINE BUT THE9Z............CAN THEY BE SAVED?
A picture speaks a thousand words; well, one word describes this: $!*&! The inside of a dryer
typically is between 150 and 180 degrees. Leather tends to cook at about 135, 140 degrees. Repeat after me: I will NEVER DO STUPID $!%! like this again!
Puff, puff. PUFF! Pass the papers dude!:
This is kind of dopey, no pun intended, but I thought I'd bring it up anyways. Paper has a natural acid in them anyways. Youwouldn't believe the artwork I've seen ruined because some dink grabbed the wrong mat, or the customer was just cheap. The papers in the boxes, I canpromise you, are not acid free. Acid free paper tends to be about 4 times higher on average than normal paper. Does that mean go out and buy 800 yards of acidfree liner paper? No. The amount of acid in the paper in those boxes is so low, and there is so minimal pressure against the shoes, it isn't going tomatter. The older papers with the ink on them are a little more troublesome. Take the paper out, fold it and save it. I know those are nostalgic since it?sbeen probably 10 years since Nike used it.
Plastic can kill you, and I don't mean Visa & MasterCard.
Moving on from the pains of paper brings us to the sheer stupidity of plastic. Wrapping shoes in cellophane, i.e. Saran Wrap, ranks right next to a screen doorinstalled on a submarine, and slightly below a 3rd class ticket on the Titanic. Plastic wrap shrinks folks. And when it shrinks, it adheres to whatever ittouches. And then whatever it touches cannot breathe, dries out, and then becomes stuck to the cellophane. Which means after you carefully unwrap your shoes,the next thing happening will be your mother washing your mouth out with soap for every 4 letter word you scream that can be heard within a 5 block radius.
Storage; it isn't just about gigabytes.
You can safely leave the shoes in the boxes, and not make a dark room out of the place. How can you possibly enjoy collecting anything ifyou have to look at it in a dark room, with he lights off, and only a pencil flashlight to look at them? For those who think behind glass is great for showingthem off, you're right. They would look awesome in a case o whatever for display. But spend the extra money. Buy conservation glass, even go to thenonglare. Regular glass is like $15 for a 32x40 inch sheet. Conservation is typically about $40, and nonglare conservation is about $60. I've seen itonline for less than that even if you know how to cut it. Conservation glass has a protective film on one side to block out the UV rays normally around. Thesepanes of glass are also guaranteed to protect from damage to the display for over 100 years, some up to 140 I believe. If you're 140 when the glass goes,wearing or displaying Jordans is most likely the least of your problems.
For storage, use a silica pack, not a gross national products worth of it. One is more than enough. Buy some Damp Rid in the canisters to put in the closet. Itdoes wonders. You are trying to keep the sweat from absorbing into the shoes, not to keep the moisture in the leather from drying out. Also, try not storingone box on top of another, on top of another on top of another on top of another. All you are doing is putting a lot of smelly, sweaty shoes in one place, andthey are basically keeping the sweat and funk from the other shoes in them. Stack them side by side, upright or horizontal on a shelf, with some room abovethem for air to pass through and clean them out.
As far as Ziploc bags, I don't think this is any better than Saran Wrap in regards to sealing them up. The leather has to breathe. Locking it in anairtight container, and then hoping 15 years down the road its going to be crispy when it comes out is insane. Once you take it out 15 years from now, you WILLpass out from the smell of rotten leather, and if you come to and wear the shoes, they'll crack like a sidewalk.
A Barkeeper's Best Friend
Here's an example of WHY we use this stuff from f l e x G T I.
In case most of you are wondering WHY I would know all of this stuff, here's why:
1) My parents have never paid more than $30 for a pair of shoes in my life, and when I first started laying out $80 and up for shoes, I made well sure theylasted a long, long time.
2) I used to work for a year and a half in a frame gallery, doing custom pictures and such. I've done Derek Jeter World Series jerseys, Kobe jerseys,Jordan jerseys, Brett Farve footballs, pre-Colombian tapestry, stuff that's like 3,000 years old, even a set of boxing gloves from Rocky IV, one made likea Russian glove and the other an American glove, signed by Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren. It was my job to know how to treat these things, whatmaterials were the worst for preserving them. You have NO CLUE how close you are to wetting your pants and soiling yourself when you are having to UNDO someoneelse's screw up by simply laying a threaded tapestry on glass, and hoping when you peal it off, it doesn't tear, and then having to explain to theowner why you're charging almost $1000 more than the quote to do the job right. I needed to know how to clean everything that came in, how to preserveeverything that came in, and more importantly, how to save it when it was nearly ruined. I could pull major miracles out of my rear end.
PLEASE GIVE CREDIT TO chernabog915 for taking time to create and edit this post. I truely hope it serves it's purpose and helps educates ourcommunity.
