How to DIY Hydro Dipping Shoes For Less Than 20$
To all enthusiastic DIYers out there! If you are looking for custom hydro dipping techniques for your old pair of Nike, Vans or whatever…you’ve come to the right place! So get settled and read on.
To begin with, there are two popular ways to hydro dip your shoes. And, no matter which one you choose, you won’t spend more than 20$!
OPTION 1: The first cost-effective method requires to mix up different spray paints in a bucket of water.
Start by the hardest, most boring part — taping the shoes on the sections where you don’t want to hydro dip. We suggest using painting tape because it’s the easiest to cut and get rid of after. Once you are done taping, it comes the easy and cool part — hydro dipping!
So, fill up a clean, empty bucket with about 70–80% of water. Then splash spray paint on little by little depending on how many colours you’ve chosen (two colours is best). Then after fully sinking the shoes in the bucket for a minute, take them out and store them somewhere dry. Leave the pair for about 24 hours, remove the tape and voila — you are done.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Pair of shoes (old or new)
- Bucket
- Spray paint(s) — 3–8 $/each can
- Painting tape — 5$
- Water
OPTION 2: The second hydro dipping technique also requires to tape both shoes on the parts where you want to keep away from hydro dipping.
As a step two, get some acetone nail polish remover and start rubbing the shoe elements which are not covered in tape. In this way, you will have the material a bit more ready for painting. We’d recommend placing the shoes in a box in order to keep the walls around clean.
Once you do it, take the primer sprays you’ve chosen and start to spray the shoes.
Friendly reminder: Put a face mask to protect your lungs as several toxic fumes are coming from the spray paints.
MATERIALS NEEDED
- (Old) pair of shoes
- A paper box you don’t use
- Acetone nail polish remover — 3$
- Primer spray(s) of your choice — 5$/per can
- Painting tape — 5$
In the end, here are some of the most popular mistakes you should avoid at any cost when custom hydro dipping shoes.
False mixing proportion
Believe it or not, most people make significant mistakes while mixing the paint and not during the painting. The incorrect proportion can cause the coat not to stick on the surface and many other complications.
Rushing the process
If you go for OPTION 2, make sure the acetone nail polish remover is completely dry before to start spraying with primer sprays (many people sabotage their DIY hydro dipping shoe process on that stage).
Double dipping is a hard “no”
Another common mistake is to double-dip when the paint is still wet which cause the paint not to stick on the shoe surface.
So, it’s your turn now! Try at least one of the DIY shoe hydro dipping techniques for under 20$ and let us know how it went. Good luck!
