1985 Collars turned to dust. Any fixes?

[Maxwellmurder]

I came up on a pair of 85s for $300 but the collar inside and insole foam has essentially turned to sand. Any fixes for this? Thanks!

 

[JRepp23]

Do you plan on wearing?

 

[Maxwellmurder]

Do you plan on wearing?

Ya i wanted to. The shoe itself and outsole are fine. I had a pair on display that were in great shape but not my size so I sold them to get my size and now I’m bummed out.

 

[JRepp23]

Just my opinion. But those need to be in a display case. You have a true original that I can only imagine having. Get a newer pair of Chicago 1s and rock those.

 

[The Fresh Prince]

Some people paint the collar back to the original color so you could do that.

 

[Maxwellmurder]

Just my opinion. But those need to be in a display case. You have a true original that I can only imagine having. Get a newer pair of Chicago 1s and rock those.

Ya I have the 2015s I just like the the vintage look of the 85s. They’re not DS or anything I wouldn’t do that but they’re not as hard to come by as you would think.

 

[Maxwellmurder]

Some people paint the collar back to the original color so you could do that.

The paint is fine it’s the inside foam that has become brittle if you squeeze it feels like you squeezing a piece of toast or something and it kind of crumbles. Same with the insoles. They have their shape but if I press on them it turns to sand

 

[jordan4eva23]

there is nothing you can do, unless you want to open them up to remove the aged foam and replace it

 

[The Fresh Prince]

The paint is fine it’s the inside foam that has become brittle if you squeeze it feels like you squeezing a piece of toast or something and it kind of crumbles. Same with the insoles. They have their shape but if I press on them it turns to sand

If that's the case I would just replace the insoles unless if you want to do like jordan4eva23 recommended and replace the aged foam.

 

[Bert.]

there is nothing you can do, unless you want to open them up to remove the aged foam and replace it

This

I’ve seen restorers do it

 

[Maxwellmurder]

If that's the case I would just replace the insoles unless if you want to do like jordan4eva23 recommended and replace the aged foam.

Ya that’s probably what I’ll do. I already swapped the insoles I’m gonna find a pair of beaters and see if a shoe repair place can refill them.

 

[ogSlater]

I would like to suggest that unless the shoe repair shop you mentioned has experience with sneakers specifically old jordans or nikes you might not want them to touch them. mine did the same thing all the foam dried out and I was left with a ruined shoe. there just too old to wear sometimes depending on the environment conditions they were stored in over the years. the foam in the tongues will do the same thing sometimes and your left with just the nylon shell of a tongue. just be careful who you let try to fix them. I would really do some research on the person that repairs them first.

 

[sthebest]

You’re going to have to take them to a shoe restorer or a cobbler to get the collars swapped, it’s not going to be a cheap repair. That $300 pair of OGs is going to end up costing you $600 or more to get wearable.

 

[1988supersport]

i say fix them and rock em. only live once.

 

[SteveSteve72]

Please use this thread https://niketalk.com/threads/official-sneaker-care-maintenance-post-its-back.15471/ for this.