Cosplay Crafting: This Is the Secret to Flawlessly Painting Shoes

Put down the acrylic paint. Don’t even think about using traditional spray paint. When it comes to painting leather or pleather shoes, look no further than floral spray paint. Yes, floral spray paint.

As a lightweight paint used to change the color of flowers, its formula is flexible enough to move with p/leather goods and, of course, change the color. Now, I know you’re thinking this sounds like a cosplay nightmare waiting to happen, but it’s not. In fact, it’s a cosplay dream. 

I transformed a pair of yellow shoes to a perfect purple for my Rockabilly Huntress cosplay inspired by the variant cover for”Detective Comics” #43. It’s an easy process that you can follow along for your next project.

What you’ll need:

• A pair of shoes
• Design Master floral spray paint. I used ‘violet’
• Painters tape*
• Acetone and cloth
• Plastic gloves
• Newspaper

Step 1: Rub acetone across your shoe to remove any gloss. This will help the shoe take in the color.

Step 2: Using small bits of painter tape, pieces at a time, cover the sole and other parts of the shoe you want to cover.

Step 3: Add crinkled newspaper to the front of your shoes. This will stretch the shoe a bit and prevent any creases when you slip your foot in and wear them out.

Step 4: Follow the directions before spraying! I can’t stress that enough. Add 2-3 coats or as much needed.

Tip: Lightly spray from bottom to top to avoid dripping. Also, wear your gloves (unlike me)

I have to be honest: On my second coat, I got a little sloppy, and there was some dripping, but it disappeared in a few minutes after it dried. So if you’re not a delicate crafting flower (like me), floral spray is for you!

Tip: Use a cotton swab and acetone to remove any accidents on spots that weren’t covered.

See? No cracks or creases and it’s pretty even. Like always, all that’s left to do is take lots of selfies with your new project! Be sure to tag @themarysue and me, @thecrazybatlady! We’d love to see how it comes out! If you have any tips for fellow readers, leave them in the comments below.

Jessica is a pink-clad brat-girl, blogger, and craftswoman headquartered in NYC. You can find her collection of adventures in beauty, cosplay and more of her tutorials over at her blog, The Crazy Bat Lady.

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