How to Restore Designer Shoes

It’s about time we show some love to one of our favorite designer brands. We got our hands on a beat up pair of Gucci Aces and figured it’d make a good restoration project for Vick. Why would someone let Gucci Ace sneakers get this bad in the first place? Who knows. But I do know that RESHOEVN8R works just as well on designer sneakers like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Louboutin as it does on your everyday Jordans and Yeezys. 

Why restore a designer sneaker like the Gucci Ace? Well for one, the premium materials are fun to work with. But just as fun is the challenge that comes along with luxury shoe restorations projects. Oftentimes luxury shoes feature rare materials that you don’t see anywhere else.  The foil portion on the heel of the Gucci Ace needs some serious work, and that’s not something we see very often on casual sneakers. 

On top of fixing the heel, this full restoration of the Gucci Ace will include (but is not limited to): a full cleaning with the RESHOEVN8R Essential Kit, unyellowing with RESHOEVN8R Sole Revive, damage control, fresh paint, and more. Ready? Let’s get right into it. 

Deep Clean with the RESHOEVN8R Essential Kit

Cleaning the Gucci Ace was the least exciting part of this restoration…maybe because the RESHOEVN8R Essential Kit made it too easy! The Sneaker Cleaning Solution and Brushes made quick work of the dirt and grime on the precious leather upper and rubber sole.

If you didn’t know, RESHOEVN8R’s Sneaker Cleaning Solution is made of all-natural oils that provide extremely powerful cleaning power AND recondition materials like leather as you clean. It’s like giving your shoes a bubble bath and moisturizing them in one go!

Unyellowing Soles with Sole Revive

After cleaning the Gucci sneakers it’s apparent that the shoe has become yellow in its old age. In order to make the shoe bright white again we’ll need the help of RESHOEVN8R Sole Revive. Vick applied a generous coat of Sole Revive to the sole and left it in the Vick 2000 indoor UV setup overnight. Just like magic, the sole is white again and the stitching has lost its yellow tint, too. 

If you weren’t a believer in Sole Revive the results are quite compelling. Everyday we hear from skeptics that say the oxidation can’t be reversed. Well it can, and we did, thanks to RESHOEVN8R Sole Revive. 

Fixing the Damaged Leather

Vick’s deep clean of the Gucci Ace revealed some scratches in the leather including a giant gash in the toe box. If we want this shoe to look halfway decent after we paint it, that scratch needs to be fixed first. 

As with most leather damage, Vick started off by sanding the area smooth, and then proceeded to fill in each dent and scratch with leather filler. Repeating this process over and over again produces the best results. The idea here is to make the scratch look like it never existed. Easier said than done, but Vick’s been around the block a time or two, and makes it look pretty seamless. 

Wrapping Up

With a quick tape job and a few strokes of his airbrush, Vick gave the Gucci Ace some fresh white paint to match its newly repaired upper. In order to preserve the buttery texture of the leather, Vick sanded down the paint in between coats. 

The trickiest part of the Gucci Ace restoration is the heel. The foil accents on the heel are dull and cracked, and replacing it is not an easy task. Vick used a similar method to his restoration of the Legends of Summer Air Jordan 3 to apply new foil to the shoe with a soldering iron. 

It's All Gucci

This restoration is finally complete. While this wasn’t necessarily the hardest of Vick’s recent sneaker restorations, this was one of the most satisfying sneaker transformations to date.

Designer sneakers deserve love, too. Shoutout to Vick for giving the Gucci Ace some new life. Do you own any designer sneakers? Head over to Youtube and let us know in the comments!