Putting Shoe Goo on my new booties

Got my new bevsuit with booties off the brown truck today!
It came with a recommendation by bev to use the product Shoe Goo on the seams and bottom of the toe cups to extend the life of the booties.
Read a bunch of the old posts on putting Shoe Goo on your booties... how & why. Most were really old posts.

Thought I would start a new thread and include some pictures of how I did it to help anybody else that might want to try it.
Feel free to comment if you have a different suggestion or just want to add your ideas. I was worried at first about making a mess of my new suit but it went well and I'm happy with my results.
You can find Shoe Goo at most sporting goods stores in the shoe department and some big box stores.

First tip was to open the tube and place it in some hot water to thin it down a bit.
Second tip was to put a pair of shoes in the booties to help them hold their shape.
I used the back of a chair and put some weight on the suit to steady it while I hung the shoes/booties over the back. I put a towel on the back of the chair and one on the floor...opened the door for ventilation. I wore one disposable glove.

I started with the seam where the cordura met the leather.
I found it best to apply one thick bead for about 1/4 to 1/3 of the total distance. I then spread the goo with my gloved finger and kind of rubbed it into the seam as I went. Working fast...just a few seconds and then stop. The goo would then continue to flow and would get smoother and self level by itself and then set up while leaving a nice looking seam. If I tried to do much more it would start to set up and get messy.
I did this several times until I had covered the whole seam for about 1/2" width. If you mess it up you can put a thin coat over it and it will smooth out. You can also use several coats to build your desired thickness.
While that shoe is setting up I did the other shoe. Then I moved to the seam on the bottom of the leather. After both shoes set up a bit I put a thin coat over the whole leather toe cup.
After that sets up I'm going to apply one more coat to the bottom to smooth out the bumps and increase the thickness.
I'm happy with my results and don't feel like I messed up the look of my new suit.
Hope this helps someone else that might be on the fence about giving it a try.

Frank

For those who have done this before or had their booties wear a lot... What do you think?
Should I bring it up higher on the bootie? Or does the 1/2" look good?

I suppose if you were going to drag your toe a bit swooping on landing you could add a little more in that area to prevent wear.

Frank

Bring it up higher on the front of the bootie (think about kneeling on the floor in the plane) and you need a much thicker layer on the bottom.

Put shoes that you jump with in the booties so they'll cure in the right shape.

Put the goo on outdoors (those fumes are "bad" or "good bad" depending on your disposition) and then leave your jumpsuit out overnight so the goo can cure. After it cures, follow up the next day by filling in any spots that you missed.

I use appx half a tube of goo for new booties. Touch it up as needed.

Don't put your booties on until you're in the loading area, and take them off before you land. (Assuming you're not busy avoiding other canopies, etc - safety first!)

With this, the booties are fairly bulletproof, but I usually end up with stitching or elastic wearing out within a year or two due to so many on/off cycles (400+ jumps/year plus lots of tunnel)

Yup, that's about right. Your procedure is close to how I did it although I did not set the tube in hot water to thin the "goo." The solvent in Shoe Goo is either toluene or toluene based. Either way, it has a smell suggesting that working with this stuff in well ventilated areas is highly advisable. Best results is to let the soles cure for three days to let the polymer thoroughly cure per instructions that come with the product.

Best of luck, enjoy your new suit.

I didn't see it mentioned, but tape the booties where you want the the Shoe Goo to end to leave a perfectly straight edge. Obviously remove the tape before the Shoe Goo dries.

Kahuna

Got my new bevsuit with booties off the brown truck today!
It came with a recommendation by bev to use the product Shoe Goo on the seams and bottom of the toe cups to extend the life of the booties.
Read a bunch of the old posts on putting Shoe Goo on your booties... how & why. Most were really old posts.

Thought I would start a new thread and include some pictures of how I did it to help anybody else that might want to try it.
Feel free to comment if you have a different suggestion or just want to add your ideas. I was worried at first about making a mess of my new suit but it went well and I'm happy with my results.
You can find Shoe Goo at most sporting goods stores in the shoe department and some big box stores.

First tip was to open the tube and place it in some hot water to thin it down a bit.
Second tip was to put a pair of shoes in the booties to help them hold their shape.
I used the back of a chair and put some weight on the suit to steady it while I hung the shoes/booties over the back. I put a towel on the back of the chair and one on the floor...opened the door for ventilation. I wore one disposable glove.

I started with the seam where the cordura met the leather.
I found it best to apply one thick bead for about 1/4 to 1/3 of the total distance. I then spread the goo with my gloved finger and kind of rubbed it into the seam as I went. Working fast...just a few seconds and then stop. The goo would then continue to flow and would get smoother and self level by itself and then set up while leaving a nice looking seam. If I tried to do much more it would start to set up and get messy.
I did this several times until I had covered the whole seam for about 1/2" width. If you mess it up you can put a thin coat over it and it will smooth out. You can also use several coats to build your desired thickness.
While that shoe is setting up I did the other shoe. Then I moved to the seam on the bottom of the leather. After both shoes set up a bit I put a thin coat over the whole leather toe cup.
After that sets up I'm going to apply one more coat to the bottom to smooth out the bumps and increase the thickness.
I'm happy with my results and don't feel like I messed up the look of my new suit.
Hope this helps someone else that might be on the fence about giving it a try.

Frank

Actually,,,pretty good write up.

You step by step guide has by approval.

*Approved by Mouth*

Nice write up

The only things I would do differently is go higher with the Goo on the front, for the reasons mentioned, and get some rubber and cut it to the size of the leather sole piece. Use super tack and super glue (or shoe goo even) and glue and stitch it on, then Shoe Goo over the seems and the rubber sole (ala Michigan Suits Style). I have a 4 year old Bev, and 8ish year old Michigan Tetris Suit that i did that with, and neither show wear on the toes or soles like the ones I see unprotected.

Matt

going really high does make it extremely hard to replace the leathers later on - I wouldn't cover the top seams (that don't get walked on anyway - if the design allows).

That is why I only said higher, and not really high, 1/2" is not enough, 8" (real 8 not our usual Guy measurement) is a bit high.

But if one puts the rubber on over the leather, the rubber will wear ling before the leather. The leather on the inside seems to hold up longer as well.

Matt

then we are in total agreement

you ever try to pick stitches from a Cordura/leather seam? it's freaking impossible. A cordura/leather/shoegoo seam? 20 times worse....

(and, in my case: a cordura/leather/shooegoo seam while my near sighted vision is deteriorating with age? ..........)

Another tip for applying shoegoo is to put a nice bead or layer (whatever you need to do) on the dry surface, smooth it out with an ice cube. You can push the goo into the seams and get a nice flat smooth surface as your finished product.

Been gooing my skate shoes for the past 20 years

Yep

Yes

I can relate

Matt

J-S

put a nice bead .. on the dry surface, smooth it out with an ice cube. You can push the goo into the seams and get a nice flat smooth surface as your finished product.

this is excellent

have had this thread booked marked for ages, just got my new tonysuit in the mail yesterday.

put the shoegoo on with the shoes in the suit, to get the right shape? not with me wearing the suit right? I got the airspeed stye booties, and I think I could fit my shoes into the suit without wearing them.

how critical are the shoes you use - does the shoegoo move at all after curing or would it crack? what I mean is if i used more pointed shoes opposed to rounded cross trainers or something. I'd hate to have the stuff peel and break off after a while.

You don't want to be wearing the shoes, as you'll leave them in the booties while the Shoe Goo cures. That would be a long time to sit with your feet up so as not to touch the booties to anything!!!

The point of putting the shoes in there is to help the bootie "shape" to the shoe as the Goo cures, so your best bet is to use the shoes that you wear jumping. I wear skate shoes (Skechers) when I jump. They're fairly chunky shoes with a rounded toe; if I were to use a different pair (say the New Balance Minimus shoes that I wear to workout) I'd be shaping the bootie to a very different style of shoe (flat with a more pointed toe). Not the result I want to achieve.