How to brush suede soled dance shoes

How to brush suede soled dance shoes

Dance shoes differ from regular street shoes in many ways. One of the most obvious ways though is the suede sole. Dance shoes have suede soles because they need to be able to both grip the floor and slide easily.

One downside to suede though is that with continued wear, the nap looses its gripping ability. If you look at the sole of a worn dance shoe, you'll notice that it is quite shiny and doesn't have the gripping ability as a less worn dance shoe. Luckily, this is easily fixed with a suede brush!

When looking for a suede brush, make sure it has lots of angled and sharp teeth, a handle, and a cover or something to keep it in. The teeth are sharp and they will snag your clothes, bag, or shoes, so make sure you have something secure to keep it in when you're not using it.

Here are the steps for brushing your suede soled shoes:

1. Have a firm grasp of the brush
2. Hold shoe tightly by the top of the laces
3. Make sure your fingers don't get in the way because the needles are sharp!
4. Brush against the nap of the suede. If your shoes have been worn a lot and have a very shiny appearance, don't be afraid to put some force behind it.
5. You'll notice that some of suede rubs off, this is normal.
6. Alternate your strokes in a crisscross pattern so that you don't wear away at the suede in one area.

If you don't have a brush, you can also use some coarse sandpaper - 80 grit for the best results. Just scrub back and forth over the area with your sandpaper until you see the nap return back to the way it was before the wear.

Make sure you look after your dance shoes. They were an investment and are one of the most important tools a dancer has!

Click here to purchase a suede sole brush from iLoveDanceShoes.