How I painted my Giro Empire shoes, and how they're holding up after 1,5 years

A fun way to extend the life of your cycling shoes, or just to switch it up a bit. The leather paint I used is from Angelus Direct. They specialize in paint for sneakers and other shoes so it's ideal for this purpose.
I'm obvious no artist so I did my shoes very conservative in two simple colors. But I you have some talent you could do some spectacular custom shoes... as you might have seen on Instagram for example. (#velokicks)
The Angelus Acrylic Leather paint:
Starter pack:
US: amzn.to/2u45mA2
UK: amzn.to/2u37XKx
Acrylic finisher:
US: amzn.to/2zyYD6H
UK: amzn.to/2m5mzVl
Direct from Angelus:
- Light Blue: angelusdirect.com/collections...
- White: angelusdirect.com/collections...
- Acrylic finisher: angelusdirect.com/collections...
Nail polish remover and cotton swabs you can find in every supermarket or pharmacy I think, brushes as well.
Instagram:
/ ridesofjapan
Captions by:
/ kruucks
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[@effin95]

How much the paint left after you've finished painting your shoes?

[@ridesofjapan]

Apit Sagan the smallest 1oz bottle would easily been enough for the blue! Maybe half a bottle for a pair of shoes. That would have been good into to have in the video 😅 pinning this. Thanks!

[@effin95]

Rides of Japan thanks, bruh.. love ur vids.. I'm a subscriber now.. keep up the good work 👏

[@bartolovelo8976]

Will this paint be OK for synthetic materials too? I'm not sure if my shoes are leather.

[@ridesofjapan]

Bartolovelo yes, no problem. My giros are synthetic 👍

[@peterderuiter2937]

This is my new go to channel on youtube. Great content and some serious editing skills. Great choice of music too.

[@Davepool_TF-69]

Dude... I love your channel. You're a natural at this. Your music choices, video editing, and just overall presentation are great. And your content is both entertaining and great info. Kudos and keep up the good work!

[@ridesofjapan]

David Schroeder thanks you very much sir for those kind words! Nothing like that to keep me motivated 🙏

[@johnjerizlopezignacio3891]

You inspired one girl who does beautiful art because of this. (Not that sure but maybe.) I'd send my shoes to her soon to have an awesome art!! Chapeau!

[@aemediainc]

SO glad i found this video, I just bought some used and faded Sworks for pennies, and looking for some tips. Looking forward to trying this! Thanks for all your high quality content!

[@lanceoa]

Holding up nice! Thx for the show!

[@chrlmn7372]

Thank you sir - you always posting excellent YT Videos with fine editing skills! Wishing you a wonderful Sunday!

[@bball360000]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I painted my shoes black bc i hated the original color and it looks like new!!! So awesome!!

[@rinhu8864]

Wow seriously good result. I've got empires in white, have to try something like that when they get old

[@carldyson5092]

Quality job. Might have to attempt this one day

[@drivemyexotic5274]

Going to try this on a pair of Specialized this weekend. Going partial gold with the same paints. Thanks for the tutorial!

[@mackid03ify]

I’m glad I inspired you bro wow nice work

[@sharonalicea7998]

They look great! I'm thinking about color custom a pair of Specialized shoes for my husband. He has a limited edition "tape" bike, and I would love to surprise him with a pair of shoes and helmet that go with his bike!

[@mchacon01]

Thank you for your post! Mine was a minor touch up but thank you nonetheless. I was able to touch up my Giro Empire ACC Blue Steel shoes. I was able to color match it with Angelus Blue Turquoise. It was scuffed from tire overlap. The color isn't metallic as the shoe but it's on the low side of the toe so it looks great (so far). Also had no idea that Angelus was local to me as well. Cheers!

[@jesuswouldkilhimself]

Thanks. Nice song. Funky bro!!

[@braulioperez181]

Excellent video, This is just what I was looking for. Great demonstration of ingenuity and skills. I wonder if with spray paint instead of brush will be more effective and last longer. Thanks for the material list. I will try your process for sure. I am a new follower. Love your videos. Keep On!

[@robertofernandezvazquez8755]

wow, the song! a good work also :-)

[@olelutjens4205]

This works great by the way.

[@richardholgersen5516]

nice video , solid tune !

[@user-eg3wn1hg4z]

i will try it.thank you 👍

[@akroydone5933]

Epic!

[@TwoWheelCruise]

looks like a fun project to try out in the future :) Now if only I had some nice shoes haha

[@ridesofjapan]

You'll make them nice with the paint! ;)

[@vincentpinlac3606]

Nice brush strokes. Hardly notice it was painted blue and white

[@TheFlyingKoala]

Nice

[@francoisjacques504]

the distress on the shoe is prity cool orange blue

[@s4ints]

hey would i be able to do the same thing to these shoes? Shimano SH-MT5. Just bought them but I'm not too fond of the maroonish red.. but to make life easier, i'll just paint a more vibrant red over it so not too much work. another question, since you do from time to time walk around during rides, take photos, shoot with the drone.. wouldn't it have been easier to wear MTB or Touring shoes? Any reason why you still go with road shoes or just personal preference?

[@kierenkd]

pretty cool. I found this looking for tutorials to add LEDs to the soles of my cycling shoes a bit like those awful lightup trainers. Not for style, just to make myself more conspicuous as despite 2 sets of daytime running lights, I've been rear ended 3 times this year :/

[@ridesofjapan]

kierenkd Jesus! That’s rough! Where do you ride if I might ask?

[@gnidaerd]

Ha, I just bought some mint but shiny blue Shimano R320 shoes. Great fit but the colour is a bit overpowering for my sensitive soul. This video might just be my saving grace. cheers

[@TaichoCyclist]

Maybe a matte coat over the shoes will do the trick than a complete paint over?

[@sinboof6250]

I got one light blue ，why my light blue look so differently，mine its so soft

[@sv-cr5yo]

Is 1 Oz enough or I need to buy 4 Oz pack, I want to paint a pair of shoes matt white

[@SP-vd9wh]

Nice colours BUT: How much weight did you add??? ;)

[@connorgibney7653]

Is the finisher necesary or will it work fine without it

[@ridesofjapan]

Gᄆ•ᅲᄒEłmëxᎥčano휴•ᄆ I would say the paint will last a lot longer with the finisher. But I haven’t tried without myself. Also the paint will look better with the finisher.

[@connorgibney7653]

@@ridesofjapan great thanks, decided to get some. Love your videos

[@ridesofjapan]

Gᄆ•ᅲᄒEłmëxᎥčano휴•ᄆ thanks mate! 🙏 Good luck with the shoe painting!

[@amsp79]

How much weight did the paint add, do you know?

[@ridesofjapan]

amsp79 spoken as a true weight weenie! 👍 Unfortunately I don’t know... should have weighted them before and after. Can’t be much more than a few gram though.

[@amsp79]

Hahaha.. what have I become?!? ;D

[@richfi9576]

haha - exactly what I was just about to post. Nice result, but think of the grams!!!

[@severinrye9474]

How did you keep the holes for venting from getting blocked by the paint?

[@ridesofjapan]

just paint thin layers, it’s not an issue.

[@severinrye9474]

@@ridesofjapan But do you like poke the holes with a needle or something?

[@ridesofjapan]

@@severinrye9474 no, the paint won’t cover the holes when painting thin layers

[@mariopeixoto793]

So a small bottle of 1 oz is enough for a pair of shoes?

[@ridesofjapan]

For the blue color I reckon is should be enough. White needs a lot more layers so in that case I might not be enough

[@chizhang001001]

is 1oz bottle enough for a pair?

[@ridesofjapan]

Depends on how many layers you need to do. White for example requires a lot more layers on a dark shoe so in the at case an 1oz bottle could be pushing it. In my case with the blue, 1oz would have been enough

[@phildavis1825]

Why didnt the paint stick to the logo?

[@ridesofjapan]

I don’t know actually, the logo is a lot “slicker” then the rest of the shoe, might not have prepped it enough with the nail polish remover. Worked out good in the end for me though.

[@phildavis1825]

Have you ever hydro dipped a cycling shoe. Graphic option look amazing but just wondering about durability.

[@ridesofjapan]

Phil Davis I have not, I did actually think about doing a hydro dip on a helmet, but never got around to it as I would have needed to cover up all the styrofoam... became a bit more work than I was prepared to take one :)

[@DavidJKM]

But how much more did they weigh?

[@ridesofjapan]

I'm ashamed to say I never took note of the before and after weights :(

[@DavidJKM]

@@ridesofjapan Your weight-weenie credentials just took a big hit...

[@richfi9576]

@@DavidJKM lol

[@anselenriquez1191]

(I hope you don’t mind me asking) Noticed the woman in the background. Is she your wife or girlfriend?

[@Lufftschwimmer]

Would you paint my shoes ? Where do you live ? I have some diffrent feets....my shoes are from carnac , the best shoes I ever had. They are white but after the 10 years they lokk not so good, but wearing is very fine.

[@ridesofjapan]

Sorry mate, Im not providing this as a service

[@TheOriginalStevenH]

thumbs down for ruining Orange shoes