It is common to see some professional footballers wearing recognised boots, but painted completely black. The recent case of Sergio Ramos has aroused the curiosity of many of you to make your boots a blackout model.
Sergio Ramos with the Tiempo Legend 6 painted black.
- They are testing the prototype of a future boot. Brands send some professional footballers boots in the development phase that are painted completely black so as not to give any clues about the design or launch colourways. Some are tested more than a year in advance. And it is not advisable to reveal strategies in front of the competition.
- Football players are without a sports brand to sponsor them. The image of a footballer is worth money. If you are a top player without a sponsor, you have a good way to attract attention: paint your boots black. In case you are without a brand, going out to play with boots without covering the logos is not a good idea: on the one hand you are advertising a brand that does not bring you anything and on the other hand you do not attract the attention of the brands that are looking for an elite player to sponsor.
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Dani Carvajal with a Tiempo Legend 6 test boot a few months before its release.
If you are not a professional player and therefore not the target of the brands, there are alternatives to wearing your boots in black. Nowadays, several brands are releasing special editions of their most famous models, but in pure black. The Nike Tiempo Premier Black is a perfect example. But there are other options, perhaps not so pristine, such as Nike's latest Tech Craft collection.
Nike Tiempo Premier Boot Special Edition Black
If this option doesn't work for you either and what has really happened to you is that you got tired of your coloured boots and you want to make them black by hand... The first thing I would like to do is to dissuade you. They look good at first, but after a few minutes of playing the dye can't withstand the friction that occurs during a football match. If you still want to give it a try, I will give you four possible ways to paint your football boots black.
1. COLOURED WAX FOR FOOTBALL BOOTS. The traditional Kanfort. It is a liquid wax that adds colour to the footwear. It is only recommended if the boot is already black and what needs to be covered are some small details. For example an adidas Copa Mundial or a Nike Tech Craft.
ADVANTAGE. The wax nourishes the leather, so in addition to making it black we are nourishing the leather of the boot.
DISADVANTAGE. A little bit of water or rubbing will make the colour come off immediately.
2. SPECIAL SHOE DYE. It is a dye designed to change the colour of street shoes. When it was manufactured, nobody thought that it could be used for football boots. So it will not easily withstand the rubbing that the boot is subjected to during a football match. This is the method used by Sergio Ramos in the image at the beginning of the post.
ADVANTAGE. It is suitable for dyeing both leather and synthetic boots.
DISADVANTAGE. It loses effectiveness in the most rubbed areas.
3. PERMANENT MARKER. This was a very common method in the 90s. It is a product that is easy to get, very cheap, can be used several times and never goes away completely. It is difficult to colour an entire boot, but if it is a black boot with small areas of colour it can be very effective. However, it is more advisable to use it on synthetic boots as the marker can be very aggressive to the leather.
ADVANTAGE. It never disappears completely, with the rubbing and the water the painted areas tend to remain bluish, but the effect is still dark boot.
DISADVANTAGE. The effect is very good on microfibres, not so good on leather boots.
4. SPRAY PAINT FOR CARS. This is a process WE DO NOT RECOMMEND. Car spray paint is a very aggressive type of paint for a product as thin as a football boot. But it's true that it's becoming very popular for painting football boots black.
ADVANTAGE. It is the method that takes the longest for the boot to lose its black colour. It withstands all the throws of the game for several matches.
DISADVANTAGE. It is very aggressive for the shoe. It can cause the boot to lose a lot of flexibility and touch. Do not use it on leather boots.
Do you have other ways of painting your boots black? Let us know about your tricks in the comments section!
