Salvaging Shoes

Here’s a country folk remedy for old, worn, “inferior” shoes with slight imperfections. I tried this method recently on a pair of loafers and it worked great. Examine the shoe all around, checking for separations between seam and sole, worn heels and such. Obtain auto body putty from your local hardware store. Mix a small amount on a scrap piece of wood, one or two ounces or whatever amount you think you will need. With a putty knife, apply a layer of putty where any separations occur and scrape excess away. Also, put a small amount all over each heel for “cleats.” Since body putty “sets up,” or dries, in about 15 minutes, you can do the heels of all of your worn shoes at the same time. Then, also from the hardware store, obtain the create substitute Black Tie and paint each shoe with this to make the color of the shoe uniform now with the putty around the seams. By now, the heel (which you won’t see anyway) is safe to lay down on a portion of newspaper. A book can be used as a weight to decrease the space between seam and sole where separated. Again, after the application of the Black Tie tar mix, you can either leave the shoes to dry in the sun or place them under a fan or the exhaust of your vacuum cleaner. Keep in mind that it’ll take a while to dry.