DIY
How To Care For Patent Leather Shoes
The other week when I went to go pick my husband up from the airport, I was wearing my beautiful new patent leather heels that I had spent a pretty penny on. I normally try to stay away from spending a lot on shoes but I wanted to look good when I saw him for the first time in almost half a year!
But I’ve always been weary of patent leather…the times that I’ve owned patent leather heels they’ve gotten scratched the first few times of wearing them and then they looked too horrid to wear. They never seemed like a good investment.
Well sure enough, upon walking back to the car with Mabel and my husband I realized that I had two giant scratches/color transfers on both of my heels. Ugh….I thought they were a lost cause and that I wouldn’t be able to wear them again.
I scoured the internet in hopes of finding a way to save them (I’m cheap and didn’t want all the money that I spent on those shoes to go down the drain!) and I couldn’t find a lot of info on how to save them. But the few tricks I discovered, worked! And I figured I’d post them all in one place for any of you ladies who own patent leather and want to save your shoes or revive an older pair!
Removing Color Transfer/Light Scratches
*Get a q-tip and some nail polish remover….it works like magic!
*Another method is to use a gum eraser (those big pink erasers you used to have in elementary school!).
Reviving Shine
*Use Windex…it’s as simple as that!
Fixing a Deep Scratch or Gouge
*Clean the surface with a damp wash cloth and make sure the surface is dry. Then use shoe polish that matches the color of your shoe (or if you have a uniquely colored shoe use a nail polish color that matches) and dab it in the deep scratch/gouge. Wait for it to dry and then add a little bit of clear nail polish to the spot you fixed to add shine so it matches the rest of your shoe.
It’s as simple as that! 😉 Now I don’t think I’ll be as afraid to wear patent leather!
Do you have any patent leather cleaning tips to share?
Aw man I just bought my first pair of patent leather shoes! I didn’t realize they get damaged that easily :/ I’m glad you posted this though so at least I can know how to repair them if need be. Thanks!
Pingback: I Blog
Hi Morgan!
I didn’t know about the gum eraser. I love shiny shoes, I own a couple and I hate when they get scratches, these are great tips! Thanks for sharing
Thank you! I scratched my shoe on a night out and was dreading paying extortionate amounts to get the scratch taken out. This has helped, I’ll be trying this out!
It’s so hard to resist shiny shoes.. That shoe polish-nail color tip looks promising. Will try it out. Great post!
Pingback: Fashion Emergency – Use These 17 Useful Hacks To Save The Day | ALL FOR FASHION DESIGN
Would the nail polish remover discolor the shoes??? Just wondering because I scuffed them a couple minutes ago walking around the house!
Stephanie,
It didn’t on mine, but if you’re worried about it, maybe try a very tiny bit on a less visible part of your shoe? I didn’t have to rub a lot to get the color transfer off either. I hope it works for you!
Hello, someone walked over my patent leather boots and scratched them so badly leaving long marks along the side, I was devastated. Googled for solution and came across your post and used the gum eraser! WOW a miracle! My boots are like brand new one, I even went further to remove the other side scratches haha! THANK YOU!
Thank you for this. I just put on a brand new pair of patent leather shoes and scratched them already. I appreciate you.