Distressing Leather Boots and Shoes
Take the laces off. This way you won’t damage the laces and you’ll get better access to some of the shoe’s hidden surfaces. Specifically, you’ll get better access to the tongue if you’re wanting to scuff it.
Scuff up your footwear with sandpaper. Sandpaper will grind into the leather, scratching the surface without causing any real damage. Fold a sheet of sandpaper in half and rub it on your shoe vigorously. Focus on the heel and toe, where you’d find more wear on a naturally worn shoe. Then, wear down the rest of the shoe to your liking. Stick to a fine grit for best results.
Hit them with a hammer. Wrap the hammer in a cloth to avoid accidentally causing more damage to the shoe than intended. Hold the hammer near the head and hit the shoe from no higher than about eight inches (20cm). This will allow every hit to scuff the shoe without accidentally going through it or crushing it. Start with the heel and toe until they’re scuffed to your liking, then hit along the sides of the shoe. When dealing with boots, fold the top of the boot over the toe (if possible) and hit it. Fold it back towards the heel and hit it again. An added benefit of this technique is that it softens up new leather, making it more wearable.
Use acetone to strip the dye. Pour about a tablespoon or two of acetone onto a clean cloth and rub the shoe with the cloth. The acetone will lift the dye from the shoe and onto the cloth, creating spots where the leather is darker than others, mimicking signs of regular use. You can be creative with this step and experiment.
Grind a hacksaw along the curves of the shoes. This will cause some serious scuffing to your shoes and imitate years of tough wear. Start at the top of the toe, and grind into the leather, following the curve until you slide off the front of the shoe. Notice how deeply you’ve scarred the leather. If you’re satisfied with the depth of the scuff, you can repeat the process, changing the angle a bit to create new damage. You can also use a hacksaw to add deep damage to the heel of the shoe. Start at the top and grind the hacksaw down the shoe.
Scuffing Denim and Canvas Shoes
Remove the laces. Not only will this prevent any damage to the laces, it also gives you better access to the shoe’s other surfaces. Specifically, you’ll get better access to the tongue if you’re wanting to scuff it.
Scuff the fabric with sandpaper. Start by focusing on the heel and toe. These two areas are usually the most scuffed when a shoe is allowed to wear naturally. Stick to fine grit sandpaper, and pass it over the heel and toe. Once you’re satisfied with these areas, sand the rest of the shoe more lightly. If you see blue fuzz come off the shoe, you’ll know the sandpaper is working. Denim and canvas aren’t particularly hard to sand. If you feel like you’re not making progress, change to a new sheet of sandpaper.
Use an industrial brush for rougher scuffs. The stiff bristles on these brushes, often made of metal, will tear into the fabric deeper than a piece of sandpaper. For these deeper scuffs, you’ll want to focus on the heel and toe of the shoe. This is to imitate the natural wear and tear found on old shoes. Be careful not to pass over the same spot too many times; you might tear a hole into the shoe.
Use black shoe polish to scuff any rubber parts. Whether it’s the sole or the toe, black marks make for very obvious scuffs. Rub some shoe polish onto a rag, and push streaks onto the rubber of the shoe. Be careful not to overdo it, or it will definitely look like you faked the scuffs. Don’t make the scuffs too large or too dark.
Cut lines into the denim with a knife. Use light pressure, only enough to create a visible line on the shoe. Too much pressure and you’ll slice right through the shoe, making it less comfortable to wear and even affecting the shoe’s structural integrity if the cut is large enough. You can also drag the knife along the surface of the shoe to scuff it without cutting. This will mimic damage from regular scraping.
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