Shoe rescue advice

[Opti]

I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried to save a pair of shoes whose soles got sticky and possibly crumbly. Since fall is here, I thought I'd see if I could wear a pair of shoes I bought years ago because it was discontinued. Turns out, because I stored it in the box or kept it there too long the soles got sticky and a couple small pieces stuck to the wood floor when I was testing them out.

I did look online a little to see what I might be able to do. I'd even settle for a patch or something temporary just to get to use them a little before having to give up on them. I think I bought them in 2016 or 2014. I saw you can buy some sort of thin sole material I could probably glue on them, but not sure if that is a stupid idea or not. That was I think $17 for much more than I need.

[Tennesseer]

Why not use get them re-soled? Must be a shoe repair shop up there in NJ.

[Opti]

Oct 4, 2022 17:53:43 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Why not use get them re-soled? Must be a shoe repair shop up there in NJ.

There is one, not sure it's worth it. These are Orthofeet oxfords, and it would depend on the quality as I bought them because they are special shoes. But if the one shop I know of is still there and doing work, it wouldn't hurt to price it out. I think they used to even sell the Orthofeet brand. 

[chiver78]

I also suggest finding a cobbler to re-sole. I had a fantastic pair of strappy pumps I re-soled 2 or 3 times before the shoe itself gave out. I kept losing the nub sole on the heel. but I kept those almost daily-worn shoes for a few years.

[jerseygirl]

Try cleaning soles with detergent, or alcohol or nail polish remover to remove the sticky substance

[Opti]

Oct 4, 2022 18:43:33 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Try cleaning soles with detergent, or alcohol or nail polish remover to remove the sticky substance

Online they suggested a baking soda paste. I need to do a better job of it, I tried one of them to test it out. The soles were covered in my hair and excess hay from Moonshadow after my test walk at home. That's off now. 

I was thinking of nail polish to seal the soles, but maybe it makes it worse?

[Tiny]

I'd be very concerned about nail polish making the soles more "slippery".    Nail polish (if it doesn't make the shoes slippery) shouldn't last very long either.   

 I second the suggestion to find and visit a shoe repair shop (or cobbler).     I've had reasonable luck doing that in the past - some shoes or boots were "repairable" or "renewable" and some were not.   

[Opti]

Oct 5, 2022 8:38:45 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I'd be very concerned about nail polish making the soles more "slippery".    Nail polish (if it doesn't make the shoes slippery) shouldn't last very long either.   

 I second the suggestion to find and visit a shoe repair shop (or cobbler).     I've had reasonable luck doing that in the past - some shoes or boots were "repairable" or "renewable" and some were not.   

I am concerned about that too, but I want them for work. My new job the floors are carpeted. Short walk on asphalt not concrete to the car. I generally carry fall back shoes or sneakers to walk at lunch, so nail polish would be a cheap thing to try. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

It normally is not inexpensive to get shoes resoled.  If the shoes are shoes you absolutely love, you can’t find them anyplace else, and are in good shape other than the soles, I’d do it.  

I think I paid $60 back in 2000 to resole my work professional shoes.  They were a pair of Ferragamo’s I paid a lot of money for, but I could stand in them all day on cement floors at meetings, and they went with everything I owned and wore to meetings.  That was about 1/3 the price of the shoes.  I’d hate to know what the shoes and resoling price would be now!

I would NOT use nail polish.  It’s possible the polish will further damage the rubber soles.

[Opti]

Sweet on the Ferragamo’s. These are not the same price class, but I haven't found anyone making anything similar. The shoes are leather and microfiber in black. The microfiber allows for stretch. Because I have Morton's toe, its hard for me to find shoes anyway because I like and need the very rounded toe. If I try SAS, shoes range from $160 to $249 plus in what I'd like to try.

Before the shoe was dropped I think they retailed around $150 full price. I tried to always get them on sale but probably at most 20 to 30% off. I'm going to see if my new shiny high priced medical insurance will cover custom orthotics. Last time i priced that, it was going to be around $500. Since I am standing more at work, that's on my list too.

I am concerned about the resoling cost. I thought I paid more for them, but I did get them for under $40, not sure if that included shipping from Ebay or wherever I found them.

[countrygirl2]

Orthofeet are comfortable and have wide toe boxes, I like them.
My chiro has a machine that checks your feet and creates the information for custom ones, $395 for 2 pair. I have 4 orthotics now. It takes a while to get them.