Hello! I’ve got myself some atmosphere gray AJ1 and Tightbooth SB dunks, which both feature suede (more so with the Tightbooths). I hear suede gets damaged by water, so is it a good idea to add something to waterproof them? I’ve heard there are certain sprays I can use, but does anyone know if they actually work or if it’s worth doing? Does the spray itself change the suede at all? And should I just spray the suede parts or all the leather on the shoe? Thanks for the help!
Grats on getting those dunks! I tried. And now I’m tempted every time I see them online. And I really like those AJ1’s too. Both definitely wort protecting!
Suede is a leather that’s brushed until its natural grain is turned into a raised napped finish, making it both soft and absorbent. Water basically destroys the nap.
Ideally, you just avoid wearing them if, like, you think it might rain, etc., right? Or if you live in a snowy place. But since even weather-predicting folks get all that wrong, there are, as you know, some products out there that work well for protecting suede. I’ve heard of it changing the texture (I mean, it kinda does…it loses that original softness in my experience), but only as much as you’d expect it to. And I’ve heard of products changing the color, but I’ve never personally seen that, so just read about that stuff first for each particular water proofer.
BUT, most of all, please, like seriously, please, don’t go out and buy some scotchgard and empty half a can on your shoes. Maybe it protects them…maybe not? But, your shoes will forever smell like a chemical spill! You go to dinner with your fresh, clean, waterproof kicks, and before you know it, while you’re sitting there talking to your date, your friends, your parents, your spouse, w/e, all you can smell, all they can smell, all the people sitting next to you can smell, is that high school science fair you just encased your new partially suede shoes in*.* I’ve done it–more than once even–and the smell never seems to go away.
I’ve only ever just sprayed the entire shoe. It’d be tricky to get just the suede, and the suede is the delicate “fabric” you’re trying to protect, while the traditional leather is already quite tough. So spraying the non-suede parts of the shoe wouldn’t hurt anything. In fact, it might help mitigate the moisture overall.
Anyways, I’m sure you could look something up on amazon. However, I’m fond of Angelus and they have great prices: Water & Stain Repellent | Shoe Care | Shoe Cleaner (angelusdirect.com)
Regardless, whatever you find out there, READ THE REVIEWS! One review I just saw on amazon, that’s actually really highly rated, said it gave his mother an asthma attack lolll
Good luck!
I wish I won the tightbooths off SNKRS. Sadly, I didn’t but I liked them so much I decided to buy them off goat. Put an offer up and managed to snag them for only $30 over retail. Thanks for the help! I might spray the tightbooths just in case, but I probably won’t for the atmospheres as there is barely any suede in the first place.
I’ve been sooo tempted to just buy them for whatever, but I’ve only seen like $200+ and I just can’t justify it 😂 Glad to help!! There’s a little chemical smell, but that’s hard to prevent completely. It’s the nature of the beast lol. But I don’t remember there being any lasting odor.