r/nps_solovair

So I ordered these from the old White & Co (the former makers before Solovair)site back in 2001 and they were pretty beat up. I’d cut them from 14 eye to 10 eye about 20 years ago (I regret this), I was missing some eyelets, the leather was damaged due to poor care, and the sole was split and severely worn out. I wanted to get them fixed but kept getting turned down, or given prices I couldn’t afford so I decided to give it a go myself.
I added all new internals, resewed some loose threads and dyed the stitching yellow (it was really wonky looking and ugly once cleaned and I wanted to test out this yellow fabric dye I had). I then contact cemented a Vibram unit on (I initially wanted to get a Gripfast unit from the site but I was able to get the Vibrams for half off) and changed all the eyelets (I kinda feel like they are too big but it’s what I had) except the top ones because how they were cut wouldn’t fit. Lastly I sanded, conditioned, and refinished the lower body, vamp and toe and then redyed and polished. The soles trim could be cleaner but I was hand sanding,but I think it turned out pretty well. I’ve walked several miles in them and everything is holding so far. Still a work in progress. I’m contemplating cutting them to a 9 eyelet and putting a trim around the top for a cleaner look. Cheers

Just got these gibsons. Colour is a lot darker and dull than I expected and from other's pictures I've seen. Will it improve with a bit of dubbin and some use?

I also got these on the solovair outlet website so I'm wondering if the colour is the defect, as they usually don't specify?

This was a TON of work but I'm thrilled with the results! So about 5 months ago I posted this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/nps\_solovair/s/YaXGGOZJUc

And I was ready to throw away my old boots when the zipper bust. I decided... Why not try to repair them instead? They still have a nice amount of tread on the soles, so I might as well give it a shot.

So I started by cleaning them. YEARS of grime were caked on, and I couldn't believe how much a through wash did to improve the leather. I then ripped out the zippers.

The next 3 weeks, I layered on Dritz leather repair in black. I tried my best to completely fill the deep cracks, but I just couldn't do it. There's about 8 layers in there, and I still couldn't get it perfectly smooth. Oh well. It still looks better than it did before.

Then it was time to paint them. I used Rust-Oleum outdoor fabric spray, which allegedly works on vinyl and plastic as well. I chose that because it's not only wet-weather-resistant and UV resistant, but the paint is flexible, so it won't crack and peel like automotive or all-purpose paint. 4 layers of that and I was done.

After that, I attached the zippers. Color-matching was TERRIBLE. I couldn't get any colors exactly as I wanted, and the only upholstery thread I could get was in bright red, but it's fine. Maybe I'll fix it later. Maybe I won't. I went with heavy-duty plastic zippers instead of the metal-teeth ones. I'm hoping they're more durable and less prone to jamming. I hand-sewed these in, and it took about 5 hours.

Then it was time to wax and lace.

I scratched it with my thumbnail afterwards and the paint stayed on, but I'm seeing some rubbing issues on the tongue where it rubs against the wall of the boot. We'll see how long it sticks. If it doesn't stay, I'm not worried. I'll just try again, this time scouring the surface of my boots before painting. Or maybe I'll try another type of paint. We'll see. I'm just stoked to have my comfy boots back.

Yes. You can.

4 year old Gibsons. Cleaned up today.

I've been planning to buy a knee high boot for a loooong time, but every brand I see there is a different issue, since solovair are famously some of the highest quality boots for the price, I started looking at some of their models and stumbled upon these, altough I'd rather get a non shiny one, I have nothing against it, but would rather have a greasy one instead

Hello I wear my blue babies near daily and have for 4 or 5 years now. I’m planning on having them resoled when the time comes, but I’d love a back up pair one day. I wear a woman’s 9 but I’d fit into an 8 or 8.5 too <3 lightly worn is fine scratches are fine I don’t care I just need a second pair… ….. just in case……….

Hello fellow strattonites

Solovair released this model and I was there on day 1 since i follow their newsletter due to a lack of a meaningful life

It occurred to me that I could not order in my size, it only went up to a pathetic 10.5 UK

Now I might have been slow, and UK11 just happened to sell out immediately, but I doubt this

Is size 11 UK really so rare that we do not bother putting shoes on our feet, must I walk the Earth barefoot, NPS solovair? I ask you this