foreign [Music] hey guys how's it going it's Michaela AKA sneaker Queen's customs and in today's video I'm going to be showing you everything that I use to customize sneakers so I've been painting on sneakers for three years now and these are all the products that I use on a daily basis that I absolutely cannot go without now if you are new to customizing and this list seems overwhelming there are a few products you can go without at first as you build up your supply stash over time so let's just get to it so first on my list we have sandpaper and that's going to really rough up the leather and give something the paint to adhere to there is a lot of different grits and sandpaper so I found using 400 800 and then 1400 is a great combination then we're gonna move to acetone or Angelus leather prepare and the Glazer this removes the factory finish on the shoes so you can apply the paint correctly next you're going to need something to apply the acetone with so I like to use cotton pads you can use cotton balls but I find that the pads leave less fibers behind on the edges of the shoes you can also use an old rag or a cloth it's really personal preference it doesn't have to be specific next you're going to need a heat gun which is not only very necessary to help speed up the drying process but also when you're painting on fabric shoes such as Vans because you're going to have to mix that paint with too soft and that has to be heat set next up is tape I like using masking or painters tape this is great for blocking off sections of the shoe that you don't want to get paint on of course and you can also use this tape to make your own stencils which I have a tutorial on on my Instagram page so if you don't like the tape method for making stencils you can also use transfer paper so having a roll of that around is always nice along with the tape you're also going to need a great sharp exacto knife preferably one with a cover on it unlike me but um Angelus has some exacto knives on their site one of the questions that I get asked the most is what kind of paint do I use and of course the answer is always going to be Angela's direct they have the large largest variety of paint colors and types and they really are the industry standard so they have one ounce bottles and four ounce bottles and they go all the way up to a gallon if you need that Angelus has a bunch of different lines of paint such as Neons Glitters metallics and even a collector's edition line which is the perfect color match to your favorite pair of Jordans with the paint you're also sometimes going to be needing to use additives such as too soft which is used for fabric and you mix that with the Angelus Paint and then heat set with the heat gun and that keeps the paint soft and flexible and non-cracking paint palettes are also an essential along with a good container to store water to clean your brushes off with this one I got off of Amazon I of course decked it in Angela's stickers but it has different compartments for paint and dry brushes and then it also has a textured bottom for you to clean your brushes off with like when you're in the process to really get that paint off and then in the lid it also has compartments for paint for paint brushes is Angelus of course has a great line of paint brushes from super large and chunky to really cover those complete shoe panels to really really tiny for all those small details they also have different types of brushes for whatever paint technique you're needing to use so unlike me you're gonna actually want to take care of your brushes so Angelus has a great brush cleaner and you can also actually add it right to your water bucket to really clean your brushes between each use life hack along with brushes believe it or not you can actually also use toothpicks to get those really thin lines I personally don't like using toothpicks but I think it's something every sneaker artist should try at least once it's like part of the experience I feel like so it's definitely personal preference I just don't like using them if you don't like using the toothpicks for actual painting you can also use them to clean up dried paint off of the midsoles another product I like to use for the cleanup process are these alcohol wipes they clean up paint off of leather and midsoles really nicely and they are honestly a must-have pointed Q-tips are also a wonderful product for getting into the crevices of sneakers with acetone they work so much better than regular chubby Q-tips to get into those really tight sneaker crevice spaces so when you are making a special paint mixture to get that perfect color match you're going to want little plastic jars there's something sometimes you just forget so I wanted to make sure I added them so this is not something I use on The Daily but I wanted to make sure I mentioned it Angelus has a line of dye that works great for actually dyeing midsoles since you cannot I repeat you cannot paint on rubber soles or midsoles it's not going to last no matter what tricks you think you know it is not going to stay on the Soles and your customer or yourself are going to be really upset now if you're just using the shoe as a display piece not to be worn go ahead paint up the the souls have fun but if they're going to be wearing them do not paint the souls period Rit Dye also has a line of dyes called die more and they work great for dyeing your sneakers along with the Angelus leather die and some shaving cream if you want to try one of those viral marbling Trends which I've also done on my page if you want to check that out so for sealing in your paint once you are finished which is an absolute essential step you're going to want to use angelus's new collection of finishers called four coats they are a really nice line of finishers they had another one where you had to mix it with dollar and other things but this one you can use straight out of the bottle and they have a bunch of different sheens from matte to high gloss so if tape or transfer paper are just not your jam for creating stencils you can use the Cricut maker which is the version I have you don't have to have that specific version to make vinyl stencils but I use the Cricut maker here so with the qriket machine you're also going to need vinyl which is what the stencils are made out of and what the Cricut actually Cuts you don't need any fancy Sheen or color you can just use black since you're really just going to be sticking it to the shoe and taking it off and throwing it away at the end having a roll of transfer tape is also essential when making a vinyl stencil so it can be picked up all in one go and you can easily transfer it to the shoe so with all of those things you're also going to need the Cricut mats which is what the vinyl sticks do to put it in the machine to cut it I've only ever used the green mat because I've really only ever used vinyl to cut but depending on the machine that you get it cuts different types of materials so you're going to need the other colored mats that they offer the Cricut five piece tool bundle set is also an essential the tweezers in weeder are what I use the most and they really help you when preparing the tiny details of the stencil if you're wanting to try your hand in airbrushing Angelus has partnered with grex to create their own airbrush kit which comes with the compressor the airbrush the hose and an airbrush holder and you can also get this with a discount via the description Angela's paints are also airbrushed compatible you just have to make sure that you mix their additive tooth in with the paints to prepare it you're also going to want an airbrush cleaning pot this is great for emptying out your airbrush in between colors and using the cleaner to really flush out the airbrush when you are done using it you always want to make sure you thoroughly flush out your airbrush or else you're going to get clogs of paint in your airbrush and it's going to make you so freaking mad when you're in the middle of painting and everything clogs and it won't work and you have to stop what you're doing and clean out the entire thing this Madea airbrush cleaner works great and doesn't have any smell to it you'll also need to have some little cleaning brushes for when you take apart your airbrush to clean one absolute necessity that you need to invest in for when you are airbrushing is a good respirator this protects your lungs from all the particles of pink cleaner that get into the air this cake stand is a cheap and effective way to spin your shoe around when you're airbrushing it so there we have it my friends that is every single thing that I use on a daily basis when customizing sneakers if you have any questions about anything that I talked about you can leave a comment or if you want to learn more or get one-on-one mentoring from me you can now subscribe on my Instagram page and there I will teach you everything you need to know about sneaker customizing all the tips tricks and advice that I can give the subscription is great for when you have a specific question and you can't find the answer on Google or YouTube and you just want to talk to somebody you can directly send me a message and I will chat with you about it as much as you need if you have any questions about my subscription on Instagram you can send me a message or there is also a real titled learn from me right on my Instagram page where I give you all the details about what you get out of a subscription from me and of course every single one of these products that I mentioned can be found Linked In the description and everything that is on angelus's site automatically has a discount applied to it you don't have to put in any type of code just shopping through that link the discount will be automatically applied thank you so much for watching and if you would like to see more content like this please make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel and let me know what you'd like to see in the next video [Music] all right [Music]