Simple and Precise Guide on How to Bronze Shoes – Tips and Process
Have you ever heard of How to Bronze Shoes for memento purposes? Keep reading and you’re going to learn why this idea is so nice!
One of the most rewarding pleasures of parenthood is having to see children grow up, and along with that is a special sorrow in which they will never again be that small.
Fortunately, advances have arisen as a means of maintaining how tiny your child was, such as bronzing baby shoes or using plaster. As a result, many couples and families have turned to keepsakes to immortalize the childhood of their kids, such as holding tiny pieces of clothes, shoes, hats, mittens, toys, and everything else. But the main query is how to bronze shoes?
Bronzing is a process in which an item is encased in a layer of pure copper. The copper is first oxidized and then polished to achieve a lustrous shine thus creating a lasting and memorable keepsake. Items that are pewter, silver and gold plated are first bronzed and then the requested finish plated on top.
Bronze baby shoes are a method of preserving the precious first steps of those scuffed little shoes. Bronzing shoes, although common in previous generations, have fallen out of fashion for some time. The method was messy, requiring plaster and an electroplating finish to enable the shoes to be adhered to by bronzing. And it was not exactly cheap. It is simply the method of preserving baby shoes in acrylic.
However, improvements have been made in how shoes can be maintained in recent years, and parents have distinct choices they can pursue.
What Could Be the Best Ever Bronze Shoe Company?
For more than 80 years, the Bronze Shoe Company preserved precious memories by dipping keepsakes in copper, or popularly known as “bronzing.”
Though many different companies bronze baby shoes, you would want one of the best to handle your sentimental treasure. Here are examples of some baby shoe bronzing companies around the world that can do a great service for you. Such as:
- American Bronzing Company
- British Baby Shoe Bronzing Co.
- Impressionable Kids
Let’s start with how to bronze shoes?
How to Bronze Baby Shoes – Step By Step Guide
Bronzing shoes are a great way to solidify memories of a loved one. You can bronze your baby’s shoes or bronze the shoes of a deceased friend or family member. After you clean the shoes, you will use a camel hair brush to apply thin coats of liquid bronze to the shoes.
Baby shoes in bronze are a great way to keep your child’s memories alive. They can be used for many purposes. This article explains How to Bronze Shoes and how to bronze at home.
Photographs, first handprints, and first footprints are just a few of the many ways parents can preserve precious memories about their children. A bronzer is a traditional and unique way to preserve or preserve such memories. These shoes make wonderful gifts for grown-ups. This can be done professionally or by you. Below is how to do it at home.
Just follow the following steps to bronze baby shoes:
1. Clean the shoes
Clean your baby’s shoes thoroughly with a damp rag, and dry them with a soft cloth before starting the bronzing process. If there is polish or a waxy buildup on the shoes, swab them with denatured alcohol to remove the gloss.
2. Plaster
If you are planning to use your baby’s shoes as a paperweight, you will want to make them heavier by filling them with plaster of Paris. Wait approximately two days after pouring the plaster before bronzing the shoes. Skip this step for lighter shoes.
3. Make a Handle
Before you start the bronzing, make a tiny hole in the tip of the shoe, and thread a piece of dental floss or sturdy string through the hole. This will give you a handle to hold onto when you are bronzing the shoe.
4. Mix the metal
Mix together a quick-dry spar varnish and metallic powder of copper, pewter or bronze. When the mixture is smooth, it is ready to apply to the shoes.
5. Apply
Use a camel hair paint brush to apply the bronzing to the shoes a single coat at a time, inside and out.
6. Dry
Once the shoes are painted, use the handle you created to hang them to dry in a well-ventilated place. After they are completely dry, go over any bald spots once more until the finish is smooth and glossy. If you want to create an antique look, mix a few drops of oil into the bronzing mixture, and paint the new mix into crevices during the final coat. Repeat the drying process.
What Kind of Finishes Are Available?
Back in the day, parents were pretty much limited to a bronze finish on the shoes. These days, you have more options about How to Bronze Shoes. You could have your baby’s shoes plated in traditional bronze, bright bronze, gold, silver, pewter, or porcelain. Companies then finish the shoes off with a coating of protective lacquer.
How Much Does it Cost to Bronze Baby Shoes?
The prices for bronzing baby shoes will vary between companies. If you want to know that how much does it cost to bronze a pair of shoes then it all depends on you. You may also do bronzing at home and also thorough professionals.
Generally, prices start at about $65 and go up to over $200. If you’re in a rush, a fast-track service will cost even more.
If you would like to bronze the shoes at home, you can purchase a kit ranging from $80 to $400. However, if you’d rather leave it to the professionals, prices can vary significantly, depending on what type of finish you want and if you want the shoes joined to a picture frame. You’ll probably have to pay for shipping as well, so factor How to Bronze Shoes that expense into the total.
Many companies have even released DIY bronzing kits which allow people to take charge and bronze their baby’s shoes on their own at home.
This is a handy option for those that may not want to spend too much on professional services or for those who have attached so much sentimental value to an item that they are not willing to take the risk of it getting lost in the mail.
Remember to check out the postage and handling fees for the return of your completed shoes. This may possibly be at an extra charge.
How to Clean Bronze Baby Shoes?
To keep your bronzed baby shoes clean all you need is a soft cloth. Just give them a quick rub to remove dust and dirt. Do not use any chemical cleaners as this could remove the protective coating.
Keep in mind, the shoes are not solid bronze, they’re just protected. They may be harmed by a thorough cleanup. Consult a professional if they just need some tender loving treatment or get them replaced.
How to Bronze Baby Shoes at Home?
Things you will need:
- Shoes
- Knife, box cutter, or drill
- Wire
- Bronze powder
- Fast drying spar varnish
- Camel hair brush, for painting the shoes
It’s a relatively arduous process and it can be extensive How to Bronze Shoes? because you’ll need to allow drying time between some of the phases.
- In a well-ventilated place, gather the supplies you will need (ideally, everything will be included in a kit), and set aside place.
- Clean and dry the shoes first when wearing gloves, removing any laces to be washed and dried separately.
- You may want to fill the inside of the shoes with plaster (which also takes drying time) to add a bit of weight, based on the size.
- Before implementing the bronzing powder, clean the shoes of any residual dirt or fine lines with denatured alcohol according to the kit’s instructions.
- Enable it absolutely to dry.
1. Memories in Bronze
offers genuine baby shoe bronzing and they also bronze adult shoes, boots, pacifiers, hats, military covers, sports memorabilia, and customizing of other bronze keepsakes. Their process of electroplating forms a solid coating of pure copper, which assures a smooth, beautiful finish that lasts a lifetime. They especially take the extra care and time to produce an extremely high-quality keepsake.
2. Bronze baby shoes picture frame
Through huge advancements in bronzing baby shoes, now such methods are available which include bronze baby shoes picture frames, mounted and unmounted.
3. Alternative to bronzing baby shoes
Cost-effectiveness is a very important thing to consider in today’s society, especially with all the recent economic changes. Bronzing baby shoes are a timeless classic that will last a lifetime, but some people just don’t have the money to invest in them.
When it comes to bronzing your baby’s shoes, you have a few options. You could hand this task over to a specialist company and pay them to do it for you. Or How to Bronze Shoes, you can add a bronzing effect to the shoes yourself at home.
Remember that even with bronzing baby shoes; the bronzed shoe was covered with a special coating to protect it from scratches and to maintain its integrity.
Well, with a simpler and much cheaper option of decorating it, your shoe can have the effect of bronzing without actually bronzing it, and as long as it is covered in a protective material, it will be immortalized just as a bronzed baby shoe would.
Summing It Up!
And there you have it, the process of How to Bronze Shoes. As babies grow and change so fast it’s a wonderful gift to be able to capture your newborn or baby’s little footprint or preserve their first baby shoes forever. Bronzed baby shoes are also very aesthetically pleasing and can be displayed anywhere around the home regardless of what your home decorating theme might be.
However, everyone wants to keep memories from the past and especially if those memories are of children who grow up so fast. Bronzed baby shoes, whether done professionally, on your own, or improvised, are worth it!
Most Frequently Asked Questions? (FAQs)
1. Can you bronze shoes?
If you want to remember your tot’s tiny little feet forever, you can capture a pair of his baby shoes in bronze. Bronze shoes not only last forever, but they also make great paper weights. You can spend a lot of money getting your baby’s shoes bronzed, or you can do it yourself without too much trouble
2. How much does it cost to bronze shoes?
Adult Shoes & Ballet Slippers Over 8″ in length | Bronze | Silver |
---|---|---|
Single Shoe | $160 | $210 |
Single Boot | $ 95 | $130 |
Pair of Boots | $190 | $260 |
3. How do you bronze an item?
- Clean the object thoroughly with ammonia-based cleaner. …
- Arrange the object exactly as you want it preserved. …
- Make a hole in the object, if possible. …
- Mix bronzing powder with fast-drying spar varnish. …
- Paint the object with the bronze. …
- Apply a second coat of bronze.
4. What does it cost to bronze baby shoes?
Generally, prices start at about $65 and go up to over $200. If you’re in a rush, a fast track service will cost even more. How do you bronze an item? Clean the object thoroughly with ammonia-based cleaner.