Finding shoes that are comfortable is not an easy task. You need to get used to the new pair, carry it, and after that the legs can feel comfortable even with long walks. It’s even more offensive when a beloved couple becomes unusable, and because of defects that have arisen, you have to part with it. No need to rush: almost everyone can repair shoes with their own hands, thereby extending the life of comfortable old shoes.
Why does not the shoemaker help?
Problems with shoes happen very often, even with brand new pairs. Even very expensive or high-quality boots can lose weight or wear out. Many will say: "Why invent and do something with your own hands? Shoes can be repaired by a shoemaker, of whom there are so many now." Yes, this is true: small trays in which shoe repair services are provided are quite common. But they will not always be able to help you in them.
Very often shoemakers do not want to take up small work. They will spend a lot of time and effort, but they won’t be able to get a big reward for this. It is better to take up the difficult work, followed by a high payment. Therefore, having brought an old broken pair, you can hear that it cannot be repaired. Or the cost of services will be so high that you yourself decide to throw away old shoes and buy new ones.
This problem is solved simply: do-it-yourself shoe repair is not difficult at all, but it is important to know some of the subtleties of this process.
Most popular repairs
Most often, those parts of the shoe that are most worn out become unusable: soles, soles, and heels. Also, very often shoes simply stick up, especially after contact with water.
In order to fix your favorite pair yourself, you need to buy materials for shoe repair in advance. You will definitely need:
- good glue;
- acetone or gasoline;
- sandpaper;
- polyurethane;
- a sharp knife, preferably a boot.
With this simple set you can easily eliminate the most popular defects. If the shoes are stuck, the joints should be well degreased with acetone or gasoline and if necessary wiped with sandpaper. After this, glue the surface well, leaving the glue to dry for at least a day.
If you often have to change heels for shoes, you do not need to overpay the shoemaker. Using polyurethane and a shoe knife, you can make new heels yourself, fixing them on the sole with glue or shoe nails.
What to do if shoes slipped?
Very often, the workshop refuses to repair shoes in which the sole sank inside. Square cells stand under the insole, the heel falls through, and it becomes impossible to walk in such shoes. What to do?
Do-it-yourself shoe repair will help to easily eliminate this defect and allow you to carry on your beloved pair. It is not difficult to do this: from old rubber beach slippers you need to cut square or rectangular cubes. They should be slightly larger than the cells on the sole of the leaky pair.
The resulting whetstones just need to be firmly inserted into the holes on the sole, and then glued to the insole. Such repairs will not allow shoes to sag, and walking in it will be convenient for a long time.
Crack in the sole: is there a way out?
Shoes with cracked soles immediately go to landfill. Do not rush to do this, because it can be repaired using the old bicycle camera. The cracks must be cleaned with sandpaper and degreased. The dimensions of the fault itself should be measured and a strip larger by 15 mm cut from the rubber chamber. The cracked sole must be bent so that the crack opens as much as possible and the sides of the fault are smeared with glue.
After the surface dries slightly in the unfolded position, it is necessary to attach a cut strip from the chamber bent in half to the crack site and press it firmly against the glued sidewalls. Only now can the sole be straightened and put to dry for at least 24 hours, preferably under load.
Do not rush to throw away your favorite boots, even if the shoe maker said that they are not subject to resuscitation. Try to repair them with your own hands, and then the shoes will serve you for more than one year!