Jordan Retro 11 Low Snakeskin Custom Work Help

[dkim1017]

Ive never done custom works, but this pair really intrigues me.

I really love the snakeskin pattern but Im not digging the color.

First I thought of turning them black,

View media item 928566
That was the bottom soles could stay. (looks 100000x better imo)

I was googling a bit about custom works and came across this

My eyes are set.

Im sure these will be difficulty 10, but I would really like to try.

I need your help!

Where do I start..

I will need the angelus paint to color the snakeskin?

Then Ill replace the bottom sole with red ones and paint the upper sole black?

With the 23 on the back I'm not sure how to tackle them yet.

Well I hope this project goes through well and thanks for any feedback or advice in advance.

 

[breezy99]

You can't just replace the sole.

 

[dkim1017]

Does the midsole have to come off too?

 

[polar]

Alright, what you are going to need is:

Painting the upper and midsole:

Angelus leather paint (the red and black)

Angelus leather dye (to paint the midsole)Two Old Towels (One Towel to lay the shoes on while dying them, another to do the cleaning process at the end)

Acetone

Duller (angelus sells duller that is meant to be mixed with their paint) This is so the snakeskin looks like it does in the picture and doesn't come out really shiny.

Anytype of finisher (angelus also sells some good matte finish)

For dying sole:  

Latex Gloves

 Mixing Cup
 A Plastic Spoon
 2 Plastic Bags
 Sea Glow  (You will only be using 1-2 teaspoons of it.)
 RIT Powder Dye (Purchase online or at your local Walmart).
Water (to mix with the powder dye and sea glow for your dying solution)

 Soap + Water
 A Tire Brush (This is for the cleaning process)

First off I would recommend dying the soles first. That way if you get any of the dye on the upper/midsole you can later paint over your mistakes. A good guide to dying soles is given in this guide: http://theshoegame.com/articles/do-it-yourself-how-to-dye-clear-outsoles.html

Once you have finished dying the soles you are going to want to pain the snakeskin. First strip the finish off with the acetone (this makes the paint stick to the shoe and last longer) and then paint your design of red and black. Be sure to paint many thin layers of paint, this will make the paint job look professional and you will not see brushstrokes.

Next dye the midsole with the black leather dye. Be sure to be extra careful with the dye. After applying a layer of dye, then apply a layer of black angelus paint. Guide on dying the midsole black: 

After all this be sure to coat the upper with the matter finish.

Good luck, and be sure to post your finished product!

 

[dkim1017]

Wow. Amazing help.

Thank you very much!

I hope it turns out the way i want em, and Ill make sure to upload end results!

REPPED big time 

 

[rcjbbp1313]

also if the paint on the snakeskin doesnt come off you might have to paint all of it white first or the paints will not come out the correct color (i have made this mistake before and had to repaint the entire shoe.

 

[dkim1017]

also if the paint on the snakeskin doesnt come off you might have to paint all of it white first or the paints will not come out the correct color (i have made this mistake before and had to repaint the entire shoe.

Noted! def will try to remove it with acetone first and see how it goes.

 

[breezy99]

if you do get the outsole off send them my way.

 

[jxshhvyes]

Why not just buy some Cherry 11 lows and do the custom on those? It would simplify it way more.

 

[biiggtone]

Anybody in this Thread personally do customs?

 

[calimike510]

, I wanna know too

 

[sactownjays]

I would recommend having someone do it thats done it before.Trying to do custom work on your first try could potentially ruin the shoes. Been there and done that. Its worth paying a professional

 

[dkim1017]

 
Why not just buy some Cherry 11 lows and do the custom on those? It would simplify it way more.

Thats very true, but I dont want to pay reseller price for a pair that Im going to experiment on 

Anybody in this Thread personally do customs?

Not me. This will be my first custom if I ever get to it. To be honest, the green is growing on me. 

 
I would recommend having someone do it thats done it before.Trying to do custom work on your first try could potentially ruin the shoes. Been there and done that. Its worth paying a professional

Definitely true, but I want to try for the experience. I got these for retail so the damage dome to my pocket if I ruin them wont be as bad. What part of the custom job did you mess up on? and heads up on potentially hazard steps?

 

[woopie]

where to start.

-dye the sole with red rit dye (tutorials on youtube)(only for the icey part of the sole)

-acetone the snake skin, so that the paint comes off

-paint the snake skin with red angelus leather paint/ then paint on the black snake skin print

-then use black leather dye on the sole (the white part of the sole) after you clean it with acetone, then paint over the leather dyed sole with black angelus (get the matte black paint though)

-then go over the sole (the white part) with matte angelus finisher/ then go over the snake skin part with satin finisher. 

-be sure not to touch any of the shoe you're painting with your hands though, or the paint might get dirt in it or something.

Then let it all dry (or use a hair dryer in between layers of paint, to make it go faster), and you're done!

BTW: my instagram is @woopie_customs

 

[retrosneaker]

Anybody know somebody who will do a midsole painting on my retro 11 nightshades to the black? for cheaper than $30?

 

[polar]

 
Anybody know somebody who will do a midsole painting on my retro 11 nightshades to the black? for cheaper than $30?

Check your local sneaker group of facebook. There are tons of small customizers that would probably do it, but with most big customizers they are going to ask for more than $30 (+plus shipping).

 
Why not just buy some Cherry 11 lows and do the custom on those? It would simplify it way more.

Nahhhhhhh, I know it seems a lot easier because of the white base, but cherry lows would actually be a lot harder. The cherry lows have patent material on the toebox, which is a lot harder to paint then than snakeskin on the nightshades (paint doesn't stick well to the patent leather, so you have to add an adhesive, blah, blah, blah) 

Painting patent leather comes with a lot of prep, and is pretty hard to execute, especially if you are trying to do little details (like the snakeskin effect). 

I say go for it! If you got them for retail then you might as well try. 

 

[retrosneaker]

Nobody in a facebook group does it and shipping them to a customizer + the custom then shipping back to me isnt worth it. Any NTer willing to help me out with this custom please PM me or just send me a PM and let me know how i would do this custom because i may try it myself. it cant be that hard. can it?

 

[jay2da3o]

im really feeling the all black snake skin

 

[serveist]

View media item 1014349

My first project will be these!! Amazing. I hope this thread leads me to this result!! Ill post results when finished. I'm a bit scared im gonna mess this up to tell you the truth though.

polar Thanks so much for your tips above! It was everything I was looking for! Will those tips and guidelines in your post help me achieve the all black snakeskin pic I posted here? Like the matte finish and duller?

 

[haveair customs]

I wouldn't recommend this as your first custom job, but good luck. I'm going to start off by mentioning that the red snakeskin 11s are a reconstruction done by FBC NYC, not done on the recent snakeskin release. I have not read the previous replies to this so that may have been mentioned already. Here is what you're going to want to do:

1. Acetone all areas you will be painting with cotton balls. You will get a weird substance on the cotton balls that bunches up, this is the factory clear coat given to the shoes during producton

2. Spray or brush a base coat of red onto the snakeskin. Do this 5-10 times using VERY LIGHT coats. If the coats aren't light, things won't go as well.

3. Paint the midsole whatever color you want, again use many light layers. Be aware that the paint on the midsole will chip faster than the paint on the leather. Paint doesn't bond well with rubber so it chips faster.

4. Dye the soles, hit up @fbcnyc on instagram for sole dyes. Tell him HaveAir Customs sent you.

5. When all is done, spray Angeles finisher onto the painted areas. 

This was a quick overview. As a customizer, the best way for you to learn things is trial and error. Not everyone is going to share all their secrets, especially if it their invention. Just practice practice practice. Hit up www.angelusdirect.com for all your paint and supply needs. Good luck,

-HaveAir

 

[polar]

@SERVEist  No probs dude, glad I could help! Yea the above tips will work the exact same for the all black snakeskin.

Again, be sure to use a fair amount of duller with your paint. See how the customs above have very little shine? This is because of the duller added to the paint, and the matte finish. 

If you want no shine at all, I would recommend the angelus "Flat-top" Finisher (which provides even less shine than the matte finish), but the matte finish will work as well. 

Just be sure to take your time and not rush it. I know with a few of my first customs I was so eager to finish that I would make stupid mistakes. Just be sure to take your time. Be sure to do dye your midsole first (which I described in my first post above), lots of thin paint layers (so you don't see brush-strokes), and just relax. 

I'm really excited to see your results dude! 

 

[npalumbi13]

i been dabbling on repairing my cracked midsoles and touch ups myself. So far done really well listening to guys that do this for a living, but I'm no means equipped to do full conversions and such. I already had all the Angelus products and they are amazing. I will say that the devils in the prep and taking your time, taping and such is just as important and the application.

I'm intersted in doing my snakes with the black (dirty snakes) and pretty confident I can pull it off. Already have the materials, but my question for the customizers is do you take the bottom ice off and paint the entire midsole black or do you just tape it up and run your black right to it?

Thanks in advance..

 

[outlaw8413]

View media item 1014349

My first project will be these!! Amazing. I hope this thread leads me to this result!! Ill post results when finished. I'm a bit scared im gonna mess this up to tell you the truth though.

polar Thanks so much for your tips above! It was everything I was looking for! Will those tips and guidelines in your post help me achieve the all black snakeskin pic I posted here? Like the matte finish and duller?

Just like JB. Always giving us ALMOST exactly what we want.

View media item 1021294 I want to repaint the cement parts on the infrared 2s to look like this. Does anyone have a suggestion on a sealant for the color? I know as far as to strip, mask and paint. But I'm not sure how to finish them

 

[thn8]

I wanted to customize a pair of concord lows to spacejams, how should i change the mesh from white to black and change the jumpman to blue?

 

[thn8]

I actually for a pair of snakeskins instead, do I just paint on the snakeskin print with angelus paint the get it like that? And should I use a different black on the midsole ( I don't want them the exact same color) @turtlefeathers I'll be checking your site out