Preserve new shoes.......Tip Shoe Goo. (old, restore) - Frugal Living - City-Data Forum

tickyul · 07-05-2011, 11:17 PM

So I got a new pair of shoes from Walmart.......25 bucks, leather uppers with rubber soles.

Well, before I wore the shoes I cleaned the soles very good with water then Alcohol. Then I applied a Coating of Shoe Goo. I have been wearing the shoes for almost 2 months now and there is no wear on the soles.......maybe they will last forever??????

I have to occasionally apply a touch up coat on the soles when the Goo wears through.......usually takes a couple of minutes, then dries overnight.

jtur88 · 07-08-2011, 10:53 AM

I wouldn't expect any shoes, even the worst and cheapest, to show any visible sole wear after only two months.

tickyul · 07-10-2011, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtur88

I wouldn't expect any shoes, even the worst and cheapest, to show any visible sole wear after only two months.

Really, rubber meets abrasive concrete......and miraculously there is not going to be wear...............how does this miracle happen????

jtur88 · 07-12-2011, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tickyul

Really, rubber meets abrasive concrete......and miraculously there is not going to be wear...............how does this miracle happen????

I said VISIBLE sole wear after two months. The OP said after using his product, he could not see any wear. Of course not.

I just looked at my 3 year old work boots, that I wear for all outdoor walking. They have maybe 4-500 miles of outdoor walking on them. The outer edges of the tread is still square and sharp and they look like they have no wear at all, except a little bit of rounding at the heel. But the center of the tread, under the ball of my foot, they are worn smooth and thin. You can't tell by looking at a shoe, whether it has worn or not, unless you know the thickness of the original tread and can measure the depth.

One of them developed a transverse split across the sole where it flexes. I just put superglue in it, it holds fine.

My argument is the OPs contention that you can look at a 2-month old pair of shoes and tell if the sole is wearing or not. You can't.

LynnKK · 07-12-2011, 05:01 PM

What, exactly, does shoe goo do to the flooring in your house? Or perhaps you remove these shoes upon entering?

jtur88 · 07-12-2011, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LynnKK

What, exactly, does shoe goo do to the flooring in your house? Or perhaps you remove these shoes upon entering?

Anyone who wears their shoes in the house deserves to find out.

As I understand, it's not "goo", it hardens to a rubber-like material. The truth is, the OP is probably correct to a point. Each time you apply it, there is a coating of material that has to wear off before the soles begin to wear. So it does add life to the soles, since it adds material to the soles. How practical it is might depend on how much it costs, and how much you pay for shoes.

Be interesting to know how slippery it is on wet terra-cotta. Some shoes are banana peels on that, so it might be useful if only for that.

tickyul · 07-12-2011, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtur88

I said VISIBLE sole wear after two months. The OP said after using his product, he could not see any wear. Of course not.

I just looked at my 3 year old work boots, that I wear for all outdoor walking. They have maybe 4-500 miles of outdoor walking on them. The outer edges of the tread is still square and sharp and they look like they have no wear at all, except a little bit of rounding at the heel. But the center of the tread, under the ball of my foot, they are worn smooth and thin. You can't tell by looking at a shoe, whether it has worn or not, unless you know the thickness of the original tread and can measure the depth.

One of them developed a transverse split across the sole where it flexes. I just put superglue in it, it holds fine.

My argument is the OPs contention that you can look at a 2-month old pair of shoes and tell if the sole is wearing or not. You can't.

Yeah, your work shoes are not being used for walking on concrete a lot. My soft rubber soles are just about done for in 6 months.......2 months of wear is about a 3rd of the soles life.......and yes I check on the wear weekly. With the cement on the sole I basically have no wear on the sole. Without the cement the soles would have been closing in on 1/2 way worn out.

recycled · 07-12-2011, 09:37 PM

I use shoe goo on the outer edge of the heels of most of my shoes. That is where I naturally wear a shoe the most based on my walking stride. This lets the shoe wear out more evenly and gives it what I would consider to be a reasonably long life.

I also use shoe goo on the bottom of sandals that I wear for bicycle riding. I bike ride every work day to and from work (about 25 miles round trip) so those sandals get a lot of use. I wear Teva river sandals that happen to work great for bicycle pedals. The pedal has a fairly rough metal surface to grip the shoes, and it rubs off the bottom sole of the sandals fairly quick in a few places. No problem, shoe goo to the rescue a couple of times per month.

Shoe goo, good stuff. Oh, a few drops of shoe goo also works good on the outer tread of bicycle tires to seal up cuts that occur from glass and other sharp junk on the road. No kidding, it works good and lasts a long time on bike tires.

tickyul · 07-17-2011, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by recycled

I use shoe goo on the outer edge of the heels of most of my shoes. That is where I naturally wear a shoe the most based on my walking stride. This lets the shoe wear out more evenly and gives it what I would consider to be a reasonably long life.

I also use shoe goo on the bottom of sandals that I wear for bicycle riding. I bike ride every work day to and from work (about 25 miles round trip) so those sandals get a lot of use. I wear Teva river sandals that happen to work great for bicycle pedals. The pedal has a fairly rough metal surface to grip the shoes, and it rubs off the bottom sole of the sandals fairly quick in a few places. No problem, shoe goo to the rescue a couple of times per month.

Shoe goo, good stuff. Oh, a few drops of shoe goo also works good on the outer tread of bicycle tires to seal up cuts that occur from glass and other sharp junk on the road. No kidding, it works good and lasts a long time on bike tires.

Yeah, that sho-goo is great stuff. I just used it to patch up a set of cloth ankle weights....worked like a charm.......saved a 30 dollar pair of weights from a premature death.

gwynedd1 · 07-19-2011, 07:32 PM

On this advice I got shoe goo. I had two pairs of leather uppers with soft rubber soles. They were very comfortable but the soles only lasted a year. They were both the same make of Bill Blass label. I saved them since the leather uppers were in such good shape figuring I could possibly get them resoled. After using some old patches as a rubber filler and then shoe goo, it looks like I have restored over a $100 worth of shoes. I can certainly see that a coat of it would preserve the soles.

This was real advice for a change, not like coupons or pinto beans once a week. A big thanks to the OP.