How to smooth canvas sneakers?

BTTFSpencer

BTTFSpencer

Sr Member
I want to fill the grain in some canvas shoes for a replica costume I'm putting together, does anybody know of any good techniques to accomplish this? I would like to make them relatively smooth to paint on.

Thanks.

Happy Holidays!
 
I would imagine you could use gesso, just like you use on painting canvas. It fills in and smoothes the surface prior to painting. It dries pretty hard and can be lightly sanded.
 
best thing will be silicone i think. that will move freely with the contractions of your foot. You'll have to apply it carefully to make sure you get an even surface. Thinning it ever so slightly with a silicone solvent could help with that but i'm not 100% as never used a silicone solvent.

Peter
 
You might try latex rubber, for simplicity,
or polyurethane rubber, I think both can be pigmented, and/or painted
 
Straight latex built up in layers would be the easiest way, you can tint it with acrylics.

Another method could be caulking silicone thinned with naptha, this would provide a flexible membrane. This can also be tinted with water based acrylics.

My final suggestion is a bit harder to source. It is a product called Crystal Gel, it's sold by rosco and can be tinted and painted over with acrylic paints. This would be a good option if you can get the stuff.
 
Flexible Urethane is brilliant :) But I also recommend it as an easy option for gluing to. Shoe Goo or E6000 will be flexible and slump in to the canvas. You can buy SHoe Goo in clear and in black so potentially you could just use Shoe Goo if you want a slick smooth coat.

Knowing the project does help narrow down potential options :) I am an extreme shoe make overerso will use solvent to unstick soles and make new vamps and tongues and everything :) Using shoe grade materials you can make very sturdy and practical shoes:

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/mikka-commander-shepard-mass-effect/
These shoes are silver with interference violet and built out of leather plated over a canvas shoe base (they look ridiculously tall but I can run in them and climbed that tank in them ;)

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/samara-mass-effect-2/
Those shoes are built in to the bodysuit- easier as that was very stretchy rubberised scuba fabric
http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/1250550.html

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/star-wars/darth-talon/
The first version has boots where I reshaped the toe, and then covered in another faux leather look fabric.

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/star-wars/slave-leia-metal-bikini/
These were slouch boots I cut down to sideless slippers then rebuilt and wedged the layered in to the soles :)
http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/1129139.html

Re-covering is easy if you use a good solvent :) The Wapro "stripper" is insanely good. I've also accidentally delaminated leather that was glued very well when i used fuelite on it. I really need to do a proper "hard mode" shoe tutorial, but it's pretty easy so long as you remember to make sure you don't hack in to support, and that a lot of fabrics mimic materials already used in shoes. Also a lot of pleather takes Rub n Buff very well for a stretchier silver effect :)
 
mdb said:
Flexible Urethane is brilliant :) But I also recommend it as an easy option for gluing to. Shoe Goo or E6000 will be flexible and slump in to the canvas. You can buy SHoe Goo in clear and in black so potentially you could just use Shoe Goo if you want a slick smooth coat.

Knowing the project does help narrow down potential options :) I am an extreme shoe make overerso will use solvent to unstick soles and make new vamps and tongues and everything :) Using shoe grade materials you can make very sturdy and practical shoes:

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/mikka-commander-shepard-mass-effect/
These shoes are silver with interference violet and built out of leather plated over a canvas shoe base (they look ridiculously tall but I can run in them and climbed that tank in them ;)

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/samara-mass-effect-2/
Those shoes are built in to the bodysuit- easier as that was very stretchy rubberised scuba fabric
http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/1250550.html

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/star-wars/darth-talon/
The first version has boots where I reshaped the toe, and then covered in another faux leather look fabric.

http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/sci-fi/star-wars/slave-leia-metal-bikini/
These were slouch boots I cut down to sideless slippers then rebuilt and wedged the layered in to the soles :)
http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/1129139.html

Re-covering is easy if you use a good solvent :) The Wapro "stripper" is insanely good. I've also accidentally delaminated leather that was glued very well when i used fuelite on it. I really need to do a proper "hard mode" shoe tutorial, but it's pretty easy so long as you remember to make sure you don't hack in to support, and that a lot of fabrics mimic materials already used in shoes. Also a lot of pleather takes Rub n Buff very well for a stretchier silver effect :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions, you have some really great ideas.
 
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