Restoring Nike Dunks from 2004

The resurgence of the Nike Dunk cannot be understated. But with all of the hype surrounding the newest Nike Dunk drops, we’d be remiss not to touch on some of the older pairs of Dunks that have since been forgotten. 

Today Vick is going to be working on a pair of Dunks from 2004, the Homer Simpson Nike Dunks. And if you can’t tell, the 18 years of life haven’t been too kind to this pair. Vick’s going to need to completely take them apart, re-glue, re-sew, and clean the entire shoe with the Reshoevn8r Signature Shoe Cleaning Kit. 

The glue is so old that these are falling apart, and the suede on this pair is so crunchy. Nothing Vick can’t handle with a little help from the best shoe cleaner on the market. 

This pair hails from the Nike SB days, back when Dunks we skated, not just displayed on shelves. Hopefully Vick can do this sweet pair justice and make them wearable once again. 

With that being said, let’s get right into this full restoration of the Nike Dunk “Homer Simpson”. 

Deconstructing (and Reconstructing) the Homer Dunk

In order to make this pair of Dunks wearable again, the shoe is going to have to be completely taken apart and piece back together. Vick started by removing the midsole stitching with a pick, and then slowly peeled the upper from the midsole, and the outsole from the foam insert. 

It didn’t take too much effort…considering that the glue is almost 20 years old, these things practically fell apart in Vick’s hands. 

After some careful removal of the old glue with a dremel, exacto knife, and some acetone, we can put the Homer Dunks back together piece by piece. Vick applied the new glue, and after letting it cure for a few hours, used a heat gun to activate it and stuck these bad boys together. 

Vick made it look easy, but it can be difficult to get the alignment right. That’s why it’s a good idea to work slowly, and to only heat up the glue on the portion you’re working with. 

After a full day of rest and curing, a stress test made it clear that this pair is wearable once again. Vick then re-stitched the midsole with some color-matched brown thread. 

 But just because they’re now wearable doesn’t mean that they look pretty…yet! 

Cleaning Nike Dunks

With the shoe fully intact once again, we can grab our Signature Shoe Cleaning Kit and give these Homer Dunks a proper clean. 

As always, Vick started by cleaning the upper with the Sneaker Cleaning Solution and the Soft Bristle Brush from the Three Brush Pack. Because this is a suede Nike Dunk, it’s important to shake off excess water before cleaning your pair (or any pair of suede shoes), so that we don’t cause the suede to bleed its color. 

After the preliminary scrub with the Soft Bristle Brush, some deeper stains still remain. So Vick moved on to the Medium Bristle Brush to try and agitate those stains a little bit more. Meanwhile, he cleaned the midsole, and then used the Stiff Bristle Brush to scrub the sole, which was admittedly pretty clean for how old this pair of Homer Dunks is. 

Despite Vick’s best efforts, the stains on the suede didn’t really come out, so he used some sandpaper to try and erase them away. While sanding the top layer of the suede helped, the stains were too deep (probably from some sort of oil), and so these are about as good as we’re gonna get. 

Vick then used the Brass Bristle Brush to reset the nap of the suede, the least we can do is make these Dunks feel buttery once again! 

Painting the Swoosh

Even after all of this hard work, these Homer Dunks aren’t looking very…well…Homer? Probably because the once-yellow Nike Swoosh is so faded. No matter! Vick used some yellow dye and an airbrush to bring back the bright yellow Swoosh. 

Then Vick used some Water + Stain Repellent to lock in the color and protect it long term.

Now we’re talking. Can’t have a Simpsons Dunk without the yellow!

All that’s left is to lace em’ and rock em’. 

Anti-Ageing Miracle

Crazy that Vick took this pair of 2004 Nike Dunks and made them wearable once again. 18 long years were almost wiped from this shoe instantly. 

Thanks to Vick’s patience, and the best sneaker cleaner in the world, the Homer Simpson Nike Dunks are ready to be worn alongside the upcoming Bart Simpson Nike Dunks that are set to release this summer!

Do you have any older Nike Dunks? Let us know down below. 

For more impossible restorations and customs with Vick, head on over to our Youtube.