Best way to recolor scuffed/faded shoe heels (plastic)?

January 28, 2019 11:27 AM

My wife has some high-heeled shoes with chunky plastic heels that are supposed to be black, but a lot of the coloring has scuffed off in the back, making it the natural whitish color of the plastic beneath. What is the best way to paint/color/dye these back to a uniform black?
posted by tracer to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total)

I've used black nail polish.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 12:05 PM on January 28, 2019 [4 favorites]

I’ve used a black Sharpie. Honestly, you’d have to get down to ground level to notice it.
posted by bookmammal at 12:08 PM on January 28, 2019 [13 favorites]

Sharpie works great. It doesn't last forever, so she will have to reapply every few times she wears them, but they are cheap and ubiquitous, so that shouldn't be a problem.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:17 PM on January 28, 2019 [1 favorite]

Nail polish ftw. You can get matte, semi-gloss, or gloss to match the original material.

If it doesn't match up well, you can recolour the entire heel area.
posted by porpoise at 1:20 PM on January 28, 2019 [3 favorites]

I've used both black permanent marker pens and black electrical tape for these purposes. The electrical tape is a little more hard wearing but may be more obvious if the heel has a large flat surface.
posted by *becca* at 4:23 AM on January 29, 2019

Best answer: There's a product just for that called edge dressing or a competitor's products.
posted by dlwr300 at 6:51 AM on January 29, 2019 [1 favorite]