4 Ways to Customize Nike Air Force 1s

Co-authored by Rio Jongsae Kim and Janice Tieperman

Last Updated: July 6, 2024 References

Hoping to jazz up your brand new Air Force 1s? From paint and rhinestones to paint markers and fabric, there are tons of different ways you can take your stylish kicks to new, colorful heights. We’ve covered everything you need to know, so you can customize your white Air Force 1s with ease. Read on to see which option you like best!

Things You Should Know

Wipe away any finish with acetone and remove the shoelaces before making any major customizations.
Use acrylic leather paint or paint markers to give your shoes a bright, colorful finish.
Bedazzle your Air Force 1s with rhinestones, E6000 glue, and tweezers.
Measure, cut, and glue pieces of fabric to your shoes as an eye-catching accent.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Paint

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1
Remove the laces from your shoes and prep your work area. Set them aside so they aren’t in the “splash zone” while you paint.^{[1]
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Research source} For extra protection, lay some newspaper sheets or paper towels over your work surface to catch any potential drips and spills.
- Plain white AF1s typically come with white laces. Feel free to have some brighter, more colorful laces on deck if you’d like to switch things up.
2
Wipe down the outside of your shoes with acetone. Dip a clean cotton ball in acetone and rub it all over the outer surface of your shoes. Focus especially on the parts that you plan to paint over.^{[2]
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- All Air Force 1s have a clear layer of finish on the outside of the shoe leather. Any paint applied to this finish will eventually crack, which you definitely don’t want. Acetone helps remove this finish, giving you a better, more durable surface to work with.
- You can remove the dirt from the shoes first and use a small amount of mild laundry detergent to clean the shoes and shoelaces.^{[3]
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- Carefully wash them with warm water to remove the dirty foam and dry them with a soft towel.^{[4]
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- Leave them at room temperature to dry.^{[5]
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3
Tape over any parts of your shoes that you don’t want to paint. Tear off several strips of masking tape and stick them over the sections of your shoes that you’d like to protect.^{[6]
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Research source} Go around the tape with an X-ACTO knife to create clean, smooth edges.^{[7]
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- You can also tape off any sections that you’d like to paint in a different color later on.
- Vinyl tape and electrical tape can also work for this.
- Be really careful and gentle when you’re working with the X-ACTO knife so you don’t scratch the shoe leather by mistake.
4
Apply acrylic leather paint to the shoes in a thin layer. Dip a small paintbrush into the acrylic leather paint color of your choice. Then, apply the paint directly to the shoe using thin, even strokes.^{[8]
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Research source} It’s okay if the paint looks a little streaky at first; as you apply more layers, the color will look much more solid and consistent.
- Since AF1s are made with leather-like material, it’s best to use acrylic leather paint for them.
- Squeeze your paints into a plastic palette if you plan on using lots of different colors in your design.
- Opt for smaller and thinner paintbrushes—these are a lot easier to handle since you’re working on such a small surface.
5
Wait for the paint to dry completely. Each layer of acrylic leather paint needs around 15-30 minutes to dry completely.^{[9]
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Research source} Tap the shoe very lightly with your finger to make sure the paint is dry before you continue.
- Grab a hair dryer if you’d like to speed things up. Turn it to a low heat setting and glide it back and forth above the surface of the shoe until the paint is dry to the touch.^{[10]
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Continue painting in thin, even layers, giving each coat 15-30 minutes to air-dry. About 3-4 total coats of paint are enough to give you a bright and consistent paint job.^{[11]
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Add any extra designs on top of the base paint. Grab a thin, tapered paintbrush and dip it into the color of your choice. Then, draw your design over the colored background with slow, careful strokes.^{[12]
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- Polka dots, lines, checkers, and squiggly lines are all possible designs you could try.
- Outline your color blocks with black paint to give them a sharp look.
Wait about 1 day for the acrylic leather paint to air-dry all the way. Once it’s completely dry to the touch, peel away any leftover tape to reveal your sleek, polished design.^{[13]
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Apply 1-2 layers of acrylic finish to seal your colorful paint job. Dip a small paintbrush into a bottle of an acrylic finish and spread it all over the parts of the shoe you just painted.^{[14]
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Research source} Follow the instructions on the bottle to make sure that the finish sets and cures properly.
- You can buy sprayable acrylic finish, but a regular bottle and paintbrush give you more control over the application process.
- Acrylic finishes come in different sheens, with matte being the dullest and high gloss being the shiniest.^{[15]
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- Acrylic finish protects your shoes from getting scuffed when you wear them.^{[16]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Paint Markers

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Pull out any shoelaces and wipe away the shoe’s outer finish with acetone. Soak a cotton ball in acetone and wipe down the outer surface of the shoe—this removes the shoe’s original finish and will help your paint markers adhere better. Set the removed shoelaces aside, in the meantime.^{[17]
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2
Sketch out your design in pencil directly on the shoes. Think about what kind of design or aesthetic you’d like to put on your shoes. Are you feeling something wild and fun, like leopard print, or something classic and iconic, like stripes and polka dots? Whatever your idea is, sketch it directly onto your shoes so you have a guide to follow.^{[18]
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- Can’t decide on the best design for your shoes? No worries—Google Images has you covered. Search “Air Force 1 custom designs” or something similar to see how other people have customized their shoes.^{[19]
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Prep your paint markers by shaking and testing them on paper. Brand-new paint markers won’t give off a lot of color at first. To fix this, shake each marker vigorously and press the tip multiple times onto a sheet of paper. Eventually, the color will bleed through consistently and evenly.^{[20]
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4
Color in the design with your paint markers. Paint markers work exactly the same way as regular markers—simply draw and color in your shoe to your heart’s content! It may help to outline your sketch first and then shade everything in.^{[21]
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- Feel free to add a fun outline or design on top of your base color, too! Paint markers only take a few minutes to dry, so you don’t have to wait very long between layers.
- Create a dynamic color scheme by coloring in different sections of your shoes with bold accents! You might color the eyestays a shade of light blue, the vamps (toe areas) a blue-green, and the Nike swooshes a navy blue.
5
Apply a coat of acrylic finish over the design. Dip a small, thin paintbrush into a bottle of acrylic finish and apply it directly to the painted parts of your project.^{[22]
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Research source} If you’re in a rush, feel free to spritz over your shoes with an acrylic finish spray, instead.^{[23]
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- Follow the instructions on the can or bottle to see how much time the finish needs to cure.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Rhinestones

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1
Squeeze a small dot of E6000 glue onto the surface of the shoe. A small, pinhead-sized glob is a good size.^{[24]
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- For smaller, more precise dots of glue, use a wooden skewer to dab the glue directly to the back of a rhinestone.^{[25]
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- To help the glue bond a bit better, use a cotton ball to dab acetone over the sections you plan on bedazzling beforehand.^{[26]
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Place a rhinestone onto the glue with a pair of tweezers. Center the gemstone as much as you can, using the tips of the tweezers to shift and adjust the rhinestone as needed. Then, press down on the gem so it stays in place.^{[27]
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- It’s no big deal if your glue smears a bit—just get rid of any errant spots with acetone.
- The Nike swoosh, vamp (toe area), backtab, and eyestay are all great parts of the shoe to bedazzle.
3
Continue squeezing glue and arranging the gemstones in place. Squeeze another small dot of glue onto your shoe, next to the previous rhinestone. Then, grab another stone and adjust it until it’s in the correct spot.^{[28]
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Research source} Repeat this process until you’re happy with the number of rhinestones.
- Try placing multicolor rhinestones down in a fun, colorful pattern.
- If you’re bedazzling a small section of your shoes (like the Nike swoosh), outline the shape with gemstones before filling it in.
E6000 glue needs at least 1 day to cure all the way, so leave your shoes alone in the meantime. To be extra safe, wait at least 2-3 days before wearing your bedazzled shoes.^{[29]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Fabric

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Unlace your shoes and remove the outer finish with acetone. Pour a little bit of acetone onto a cotton ball and rub down the outside of the shoe—specifically, the sections you plan on customizing. The acetone strips the factory finish from the AF1s, which makes it easier for the glue to bond.^{[30]
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2
Apply strips of masking tape to the areas you’d like to accent. Grab a wide strip of masking tape and stick it directly onto the shoe. You may need to overlap multiple strips of tape, depending on the size of the section you’re customizing.^{[31]
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- The vamp (toe swoop) and Nike swoosh are both great spots to accent with fabric.
Trim the tape to an exact shape with an X-ACTO knife. Carefully guide the X-ACTO knife along the edge of the tape, removing the excess as you go. Try to be as exact as possible so the tape perfectly masks the section of shoe that you’re planning to accent.^{[32]
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4
Peel away the shaped tape and place it on a piece of fabric. Place the tape sticky-side-down on a piece of fabric so you can cut around it.^{[33]
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- Any type of fabric will work for this! You might keep things simple and bright with a solid-colored piece of fabric, or add a bit of flair with a plaid- or tropical-patterned material.
Grab a pair of fabric scissors and snip around the tape in a small circle or square. Then, cut around the curves and edges of the tape and set the taped piece of fabric aside.^{[34]
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6
Spread a layer of E6000 glue over the part you’d like to accent. Squeeze the glue directly onto the section of the shoe you’re planning to mask. Move the glue around with the tip of the glue bottle so it spreads in an even layer.^{[35]
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- You can also paint the glue onto the shoe using a small paintbrush.^{[36]
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  Research source} Just be sure to clean the brush thoroughly so the bristles don’t harden!
7
Press the cut fabric in place on top of the glue and peel away the tape. Center the fabric mask on top of the glue, making sure that it’s lined up perfectly. Then, carefully peel away the masking tape from the fabric.^{[37]
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- It may help to stick the fabric down in sections, rather than pressing it down all at once.
Mask over these sections with tape, trim around the edges with an X-ACTO knife, and stick the tape outline to the fabric. All that’s left is cutting out the fabric, gluing it down, and letting it dry.^{[38]
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Wait at least 1 day for the glue to cure. E6000 is a really strong glue, but it needs at least 1 day to cure completely. Give your newly customized AF1s some time to dry before taking them out for a test run.^{[39]
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- To be on the safe side, give your shoes 2-3 days to cure completely.

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Tips

For an extra charge, Nike lets you customize your Air Force 1s on the “By You” section of their website. Mix and match the colors of your shoes' different sections, like the foxing, backtab, tongue, and Nike swoosh. Just look up “Custom Air Force 1 Shoes” on Nike’s website to get various listings.^{[40]
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