DIY repair of cracks in the soles of shoes

In detail: DIY repair of a cracked shoe sole from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Is it worth carrying to the workshop or is it easier to buy new ones right away?

Even if you seal the crack very well using the best materials (which in itself is not cheap), you will soon get a new crack in the immediate vicinity of the repair site.

In theory, you can replace the entire sole. But, firstly, it is unlikely that you will be able to find the right one, and secondly, you will have to change both soles.

Therefore, advice aimed at buying new shoes is the most efficient and cost-effective. Now is not the beginning of the season, you can find a serious sale. In some stores, the "last pair" is sold for 40-50% of the regular price. Spending time searching is better than a hopeless repair.

A detailed story about how to repair shoes yourself was published in more than ten issues of the magazine in 1997 and 1998. This time we bring to your attention a method by which you can “defeat” a common “disease” of shoes - a crack in the sole.

Foam rubber soles often crack. In most cases, gluing the lining does not give a good result: the weakened sole continues to get wet, and the lining quickly comes off. Shoes with still quite decent tops have to be thrown away. However, there is an easy way to repair such shoes at home.

Thoroughly clean the crack from dirt, sand the inner surfaces with an emery cloth and degrease with gasoline or acetone. Cut the edges of the crack, that is, around the crack, cut the edges of the sole to a width of 5-7 mm. The groove depth should be about 1 mm. Cut a strip from the old bicycle tube with a width equal to twice the crack depth + 10-15 mm. Clean the strip, degrease and coat with rubber glue, glue No. 88H or Moment. On one side, spread the strip over the entire surface, and on the other, leave dry edges 5-7 mm wide. Bend the sole so that the crack opens, grease its inner surface with glue and, without covering the crack, let the glue dry for 10-15 minutes. After that, carefully insert a strip folded in half into the crack, straighten the sole, and press the remaining edges of the strip firmly against the sole. Leave the shoe under load for a day. Experience shows that after such a repair, the shoes serve for a rather long time.

Video (click to play).

Is it possible to restore the sole of women's shoes at home?

How to Repair a Cracked Outsole? Crack along the entire width of the sole.

Unfortunately, not always expensive shoes made of genuine leather are of high quality, if you do not take into account when buying what material the sole is made of.

The thick sole ("tractor" sole) of the winter boots burst at the bend. The reason is the weather, the thaw, then the temperature drops sharply to -20 degrees. They took it for repair, but the master immediately warned that there were no guarantees, the sole might crack after a while next to the first one. All the same boots with heels

The spouse decided to repair it himself. On advice, I chose Desmokol elastic glue (suitable for repairing winter shoes). The shoes were dried, cleaned of dust, degreased with acetone, and given time for the product to evaporate. I applied the glue according to the instructions: on the inner surface of the cracked sole, I applied a layer of glue, withstood the time, as advised according to the instructions, up to 10 minutes. Then I applied another layer of glue, because the sole is made of a porous absorbent material, withstood the glue for another 8 minutes. You need to wait until a glossy film appears.Then the glue was heated with a hair dryer and the glued surfaces were pressed firmly. When gluing surfaces with Desmokol glue, the main thing is to press as much as possible, and not the time for holding under pressure.

Repaired boots with thick soles I put on shoes only two days later, while everything is in order.

We all love beautiful and expensive shoes. And we get very upset when it breaks, bursts, or when something similar happens to it. How to repair the sole of a shoe if it has burst is a very frequent question on various forums, because no one wants to throw away shoes without trying to restore them. And going to the master is not always beneficial in terms of unplanned expenses. There are a couple of methods with which you can solve the problem with your own hands, it is about them that will be discussed in this article today.

Let's take a look at the main reasons the outsole bursts, and more:

  1. The first is an uncomplicated problem in the material from which the sole was directly made. For example, PVC outsole often bursts, it lacks elasticity and strong bends can seriously harm it.
  2. The second reason is the thickness of the sole itself. Often, when making thick soles, polyurethane foam or microporous rubber is used. So, if your sole is exactly like this, most likely it will burst. Yes, such a sole is resistant to any bends, but it “doesn’t make friends” over time, as it begins to deteriorate.
  3. The third reason, the most common, is to stumble upon something sharp. Note that even a small hole can be a big problem if you let things go.
  4. The next reason is the time of year. It has been noticed that in winter, shoes crack more often, due to the effect of extreme cold weather on them and chemistry, which is sprinkled on roads from ice.

Let's talk about whether there is any way to warn yourself against such situations.

In order not to wonder how to repair the sole of a shoe if it bursts, follow these guidelines:

  1. When buying shoes, carefully look at the sole so that it is elastic, made of high-quality material. Rubber and polyurethane soles will be preferred.
  2. As strange as it may read, do not squat. Yes, yes, it is because of this that the damage to the shoes begins, the corners are torn and the sole bursts.

We pass directly to the solution of the problem itself.

So, what to do if the sole of your shoe bursts? - It is possible to solve a similar problem not even in one, but in several ways.

For this procedure, you will need:

  • glue "Moment";
  • Crazy Handles epoxy sealant;
  • means with polyurethane "Desmokol".

Important! Be extremely careful and attentive, as these products are toxic. In case of contact with mucous membranes, they must be immediately washed off with a stream of running water.

  1. Since winter or autumn shoes in most cases have honeycomb soles, you will first have to deal with honeycombs. The rubber that covers them will have to be removed to such an area in order to remove all accumulated dirt from the holes.
Read also:  Gearbox ZF 16 DIY repair

Important! Sometimes the honeycomb is accessed from the side of the insole, which must be completely removed when cleaning the holes.

  1. The honeycomb must be covered with small pieces of micropores and filled with silicone sealant, sealing well.
  2. You need to wait for the sealant to dry and harden before sealing the cracked sole.
  3. Next, a piece of rubber or micropores is cut out, which enters the hole - if it is bulky, or small holes are pressed in with a mixture of micropores sawdust and sealant.
  4. The sole is cut out of thin rubber to the size of the shoe, glued with the help of an already prepared adhesive over the entire surface of the shoe.
  5. Put shoes or boots under the press or other strongly pressing object.

Important! How long you need to wait until it is completely dry - look at the glue, everything is described in detail there.

From domestic adhesives, it is best to use epoxy, designed specifically for shoes. Its cost is low, so in comparison with new shoes, it is better to use glue.

How to repair a cracked sole on a shoe like this:

  1. The edges of the hole in the sole must be thoroughly cleaned and degreased with a solvent. When everything is dry, apply a properly diluted epoxy.

Important! If the hole is large, it is necessary to lay a fiberglass mesh in it - it is called a serpyanka.

  1. While the glue dries, to keep the sole flat, glue it with painter's glue.

Important! An excellent adhesive option is the American Seamgrip adhesive. Rubber boats are glued to them. If you manage to get it, it won't take long to part with your favorite pair of sneakers. This is the only glue that completely solves the problem of repairing a cracked rubber or polyurethane sole. Its cost is quite high and commensurate with new inexpensive sneakers.

Imported epoxy mixtures such as Done Deal are better than domestic adhesives, but the durability of sneakers when using them cannot be promised.

  1. Step back from the crack about 5 cm towards the heel, draw a line parallel to it with a marker.
  2. From the drawn line to the toe of the boot, clean the sole with sandpaper.
  3. If there is a protector, carefully remove it from dirt.

Important! If you have ankle boots or shoes with a protector of more than 5 mm, then this method will not help you.

  1. Having cleaned and degreased the crack itself with gasoline or acetone, glue it with good second-hand glue.
  2. After that, draw the markings for the future thread grooves.
  3. Using a boot knife, cut small grooves along these markings.
  4. Pull the insoles out of the shoes and sew the sole along the cut marks with strong threads.
  5. Apply an adhesive on top of the threads, and after it dries, cover the cleaned and degreased sole with a micropore or other material. Its thickness should be equal to the thickness of the tread and rubber, which was previously removed with sandpaper.

You can use a bicycle tube as a consumable to repair the soles of your shoes if they are cracked. For this:

  1. Clean the inner surface of the crack and degrease it as usual - see above.
  2. Using a boot knife, cut the edges of the sole to a depth of 1 mm, retreating by about 5 mm in both directions.
  3. Measure the depth of the broken rubber with a ruler and add another 1.5 cm to this value.
  4. Cut out a rectangle from the bicycle tube, the length of which corresponds to the length of the crack itself, and the width is the obtained value in millimeters.
  5. Clean the resulting strip and degrease, coat with glue on all sides so that on one side the entire surface is covered, and on the other, leave the edges dry - about 5 mm.
  6. Bend the cracked sole so that the defect is revealed. Treat it with glue and let it dry a little, preventing the edges of the crack from sticking together.
  7. Glue the oiled rubber strip into the burst place, straighten it.

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