:::OFFICIAL SNEAKER CARE/MAINTENANCE POST::: (It's back!)

[spacejam23s]

Originally Posted by matothett


@spacejam23s.  can you go over the process you used for cleaning you shoes as well as how much of each product used?

I put about a cup of h202, and i gradually mixed in about a half cup of corn starch. Use just a pinch of oxy clean or else it will eventually and foam up and start to smoke like dry ice and disinigrate. If the corn starch doesnt disolve all the way, let it sit for a while, then mix it again. Once it forms to a paste, put it on with a paint brush, you can use whatever technique you want to mask it off or tape it, i personally have not found any problems with traction loss. Let it sit in the sun for about 30 minutes, clean with hot water and a paper towel, and repeat. You dont want to let it dry out, this is why i say to repeat after 30 min, some can go longer and some might have to do it sooner. Dont get the retrobright on your skin, as it will turn it white for a few hours, and depending on the strength it can burn or sting.

 

[russey]

Can anyone tell me how to deal wit the yellowing problem on the grey midsole of the CDP 4s? I searched but couldn't find the answer. If anything even a link to something would help. I heard from my friend that plus white 5 min gel for teeth can actually clean white midsoles...idk if it would work for grey ones though. And as far as the paint chipping goes can i just use regular black acrylic paint (sprayed of course) ? Thanks in advance.

 

[ccastro02]

Okay guys. I just bought a BRAND NEW pair of 2000 XI concords, and the mesh is pretty much yellow as hell. So i'm looking at a very fragile restoration process. Fragile because the pair that i bought is brand new and i'm looking to revise these. So with the help of you guys, and with the feedback i get from you guys i'm hoping we can get through this process sucsesfully and whiten the heck out of these concords without ruining the luster of the mesh. I will be constantly taking photos of my entire process to keep you guys posted.

 

[neversellthem]

Originally Posted by jecca650

Do people use those water proof sprays they sell at sneakers stores? I just got a pair of fresh Grape 5s and i'm debating whether or not to spray them. Let me know! Thanks.

I've used some different brands and can say go with penguin or sof sole. I was using champs/footlocker brand for a while but I noticed it came out thin. I wore some blue loose suede SB bruins to a bar during march madness and had plenty of beer spilled on them throughout the day, it beaded up and rolled off. The beer residue came off easily with normal suede cleaner.
I waterproof all my shoes after each cleaning no matter what material they are made of but it can use up the 'proofer fast. It's up to you if you want to proof the grapes even though they are not made out of a "absorbing" type of material. I'd recommend it because of the white laces.

 

[ccastro02]

Okay guys here are some photos of my DS pair of 2000 concords. As you can see in the photos they are hella yellow, but there is no creasing due to wear on the shoes, no wear on the insole and the nike air, and no sock lint inside the shoes. 

 

[ccastro02]

Upon watching some youtube videos and browsing through net i have bought the following cleaning aids that have helped others reach success in their quest to whitening their mesh.
- a soft brush
- Rit whitener and brightener (in both liquid and powder form)
- Rit Color remover (powder form)
- Barkeepers Friend (though i'm trying to avoid using this at all costs)
- Seaglow

So please NT help me in restoring these bad boys!
I will also be making a video of my progress and posting it on youtube. Those of you who help me will be getting shoutouts throughout the video.

 

[ccastro02]

Originally Posted by HWBurnz

So I recently cleaned a pair of XI's. I cleaned one shoe with Bar Keepers Friend, and one with RIT.

For the Bar Keepers Friend, I dampened the mesh first. Then I mix the BKF with water, until it had a milk consistency. I used a toothbrush and just brushedit all over the shoe. Then I rinsed it under cold water for a couple minutes. Make sure to use something with some high pressure. The results were ok, butnothing great.

So I did it a second time, but this time I made a paste out of the BKF and water. I scrubbed the paste into the shoe, and let it sit for about a minute ortwo. Then I rinsed it under the high pressure cold water, and let it dry by a fan. This worked MUCH MUCH better. Here are the pics.

The shoe on the right is the shoe cleaned with BKF, the left is original condition of the shoes.

Again, shoe on left is BKF, shoe on right is original.

Kind of blurry, but just to give you an idea of the two shoes, no flash. Shoe on right is cleaned with BKF.

Then I cleaned the other shoe with RIT, the Whitener version. I used the directions the one poster said. First, I used a cup of boiling water, and a quartercup of Color Safe Bleach. Scrubbed that in with a toothbrush. I didn't rinse the shoe after, I left the solution on the shoe. Then I took a cup ofboiling water and a tablespoon of the RIT. Mixed it together well, and then applied it with a toothbrush. Then, I took some boiling water and brushed theshoe just to get the RIT and Bleach out. I repeated this process TWICE, since I did it twice with BKF. Onto the pics...

BKF on top, RIT on bottom.

RIT on top shoe, BKF on bottom shoe.

BKF on top shoe, RIT on left shoe.

Overall, both worked pretty damn good. The first pictures don't really show just how dirty these shoes were.

I would say the BKF worked a little better. The BKF shoe appears to be just a tad whiter and brighter.

If anyone has any questions, let me know. I'll be glad to help.

It seems like HWburnz used the rit solution to much success. I will now be sacrificing the left pair of my shoes to the same rit solution that was used by HWburnz. I will be taking photos later on tonight showing you the results. Wish me luck!

 

[optimusp517]

Originally Posted by ccastro02

Upon watching some youtube videos and browsing through net i have bought the following cleaning aids that have helped others reach success in their quest to whitening their mesh.
- a soft brush
- Rit whitener and brightener (in both liquid and powder form)
- Rit Color remover (powder form)
- Barkeepers Friend (though i'm trying to avoid using this at all costs)
- Seaglow

So please NT help me in restoring these bad boys!
I will also be making a video of my progress and posting it on youtube. Those of you who help me will be getting shoutouts throughout the video.

I would avoid BKF if you could.

RIT liquid solution is going to be your best bet my friend!

 

[ccastro02]

So day one of my experiment was concluded with much success. I only cleaned it once. I will be repeating this process about 3-4x to get the icey white results that i want. I used the same procedure that was used by HWburnz. Like i promised, i took photos of the results.. and, well...
Shoe on the right is the one i experimented on.




Shoe on top is the one i experimented on


Shoe in front is the one i experimented on.

I will be cleaning these again today. So expect more results and photos tomorrow.

 

[ccastro02]

I hope my posts are informative enough.

 

[ccastro02]

After 3 applications: I will prob do one more and call it a day. I got them to look pretty white.
Can you guess which side is the one i used the rit on?




What do you guys think?

 

[souljaman22]

got a pair of flint 9s im tryna clean up, how do i clean the tongues on them? the material is soft and if i scrub em it might fray the material. and also could i using retro bright to remove the yellowing on the soles?

 

[ccastro02]

Originally Posted by Souljaman22

got a pair of flint 9s im tryna clean up, how do i clean the tongues on them? the material is soft and if i scrub em it might fray the material. and also could i using retro bright to remove the yellowing on the soles?

Rit whitener should work fine on that material aswell.

 

[optimusp517]

I'm guessing the right side is the RIT application. or the whiter shoe of the two.

 

[johnandrew07]

Is this site a legit seller for sea glow?

http://islandgirlshop.enstore.com/browse/1

Unfortunately, I have already purchased sea glow from them and am awaiting for a response back. They emailed me to confirm the purchase but a week has passed and I have no clue if it's shipped or not.

 

[russey]

Originally Posted by johnandrew07

Is this site a legit seller for sea glow?

http://islandgirlshop.enstore.com/browse/1

Unfortunately, I have already purchased sea glow from them and am awaiting for a response back. They emailed me to confirm the purchase but a week has passed and I have no clue if it's shipped or not.

Pretty sure thats the developer and distributor.

 

[ccastro02]

And here are the final results guys. this is after 5 applications of the rit.
Before:

After:

 

[optimusp517]

Originally Posted by ccastro02

And here are the final results guys. this is after 5 applications of the rit.
Before:

After:

So what was the final product that you used? RIT or BKF?

If it's BKF what was your process and how was your mix ratio for the it?

 

[ccastro02]

I used RIT.
MIX ratio i used:

1 Cup of boiling hot water w/ 1/4 cup of rit whitener and brightener (liquid)
1 Cup of boiling hot water w/ 1/4 cup of Color Safe Bleach
1 Cup of boiling hot water w/ 1/4 of laundry detergent
1 Cup of warm water

1st i used the applied the safe bleach mixture, than the rit, than the detergent. Than i got all the soap out with water. Make sure you wait about 5-10 minutes between each interval to allow each mixture enough time to soak into the shoe and do it's work. DO NOT RINSE YOUR SHOE BETWEEN EACH INTERVAL! Only rinse out the shoe at the end.

I took an old t-shirt and and tried to get as much water out as i can. After that i put the shoes out it in front of a fan so they can dry. Let dry for about 6 hours. Than repeat the process about 4-5 times.
Should take about 3-4 days.

Items i used were a soft toothbrush and a white sponge. Applied each mixture 1st with the toothbrush than the sponge. Order makes no difference. Please don't scrub hard.

 

[ccastro02]

Now onto the retro bright. Anyone have a good recipe for retrobright? Can anyone briefly teach me how to use it?

 

[optimusp517]

You and I need to talk. Colorsafe bleach great! I cant' wait to restore my cherry xi lows next week.

Here's some help.

- that'll teach you how to apply.

retrobrite i'm in the process of making my own formula.

 

[ccastro02]

Originally Posted by optimusp517

You and I need to talk. Colorsafe bleach great! I cant' wait to restore my cherry xi lows next week.

Here's some help.

- that'll teach you how to apply.

retrobrite i'm in the process of making my own formula.

Thanks man. Ima check it out. If I can agther all the ingredients ill start 2morrow. PM ur info so I can go over what I did in detail. As u can help me retro bright my concords.

 

[dagreats23]

anyone know of any website where they sell paint for sneakers?

 

[baltimoregutta]

Anywhere know a place where they sell silica gel packets at the store rather than online? Also, is the retro bright supposed to have an effect like seaglow in reducing the yellowing?

 

[johnandrew07]

Retrobrite is supposed to be like seaglow yeah.