EJGreen

I would say that they do feel a bit snug on my feet but I can wear anything from a 12 to a 13 US, depending on the style of the shoe. I think I would have ordered the next size up had I known ahead of time. Honestly, I'm inclined to say that if the width was a tad more relaxed they would fit a little better. I feel most of the pressure is against my pinky toes but these are brand new and will probably fit better after wearing them in. The sole and heel is a ribbed neolite rubber.

If you're referring to the elastic gusset you might not get the desired results from bleaching the material. It actually is elastic which means that it stretches and has rubber thread woven into the material. If you think you might be able to alter the color by using a bleaching method, I would suggest trying it out on a spare piece of elastic. Honestly though, paint really doesn't gunk up the elastic as you might think and your shint armor is going to cover most of it up when you're all suited up.

This paint does have a tendency to dry quickly. Humidity and moisture will have an effect on the actual drying times.

This is what boots look like when they're drying in the sun. I actually set them outside to dry for a while before adding a second coat. In case you're wondering, "how long does it take for the paint to dry," I can tell you that it's not as long as you might think. This isn't e6000 that needs to cure for 24 hours! This is really a lot simpler than most would think. Gently touch the leather with your fingertip. Does paint appear on your finger? Does your boot feel sticky or tacky? If not, that's a good indication that the paint is dry, The first coat tends to dry faster than the following coats as much of the paint from the first coat is absorbed into the leather. But after sitting in the sun for about an hour, I felt confident that they were ready for a second coat. The second (and subsequent coats) are applied in the same way as the first. You don't have to do anything differently but the drying times might lengthen a bit as less of the paint is absorbed into the leather. Here's what a boot looks like after the second coat of paint... As you can see, the second coat has already made a huge difference! I'm convinced that a third coat might be the finishing touch before I apply the acrylic finisher.

The process has begun! I have started a more detailed thread about painting my boots in a different location in case anyone is interested... http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32499-my-new-boots/

I've left my boots to dry for about an hour and I'm going to start the next step which is the actual painting process. Before I dive in, let me say that there's more than one way to apply the paint to your boots. I highly recommend that you carefully read the instructions for your particular brand of paint or dye and it doesn't hurt to cruise on over to YouTube and do a search on the process. I've heard of people who will use airbrush or spray. Some people have used foam or sponge brushes but I'm using regular paint brushes. Whatever method you use, you want to make sure that you're using a soft bristle or tool. Some paint brushes have harder bristles and that's not what you want to use. I went to my local art supply store and picked up a couple of brushes that feature a soft touch. Before you begin, you may want to use painters tape to mask off the sole so as not to get paint on it. I'm not going to do that! I've got an art degree and have experience working with paints and brushes and my confidence level tends to be slightly higher than most. If you're frightened by the idea of painting without a "safety net," by all means get that tape on there! Just remember that when you pull that tape off in the end, some of the paint from your boot might come off with it. In that case, you'll want to score that line with a blade before you pull that tape off. One of the benefits of the paint that I am using is that it is water based paint. Should you accidentally get it onto the rubber sole, it should rub off with your finger or a damp rag. It's not as scary as it seems! You'll notice that I'm using a "fan brush." The brush gets that name because, well... it resembles a fan! Again, it has soft bristles which is important because you want to "flow" the paint onto the leather. It's the same technique that your wives and girlfriends use when they're painting their nails! I should also point out that should you get some of the paint onto the elastic gusset, it's okay! That part is also going to be white as well. When applying the paint, it's better to apply several thin coats as opposed to one heavy coat of paint. You don't need to load the brush with a ton of paint and you'll want to "pull" the brush over the leather. If you notice your brush is starting to "drag" go ahead and dip your brush into the paint and continue. Long brush strokes will have a much better appearance in the end as opposed to just dabbing it on. I simply slid the boot onto my hand and made sure that I had an even coat applied all over. You'll want to pay close attention to seams. Here's what the first coat looks like. Again, I'm not worried about any paint that may have gotten onto the elastic gusset. Any paint that happens to get onto the sole will come off with a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover. You'll notice that with just a single coat of paint, they are already starting to look white! But you do want to let them dry between additional coats of paint. ALSO, clean your brushes in between coats as well. Don't let your brush sit in the paint while you're waiting for paint to dry! Cleaning your brushes will help them last longer and provide the best results in the long run. Believe it or not, a simple rinse under the faucet and a paper towel to dry was all that I needed to do to clean my brush. I'm going to let these dry before I apply the next coat. Again, if you have any questions, feel free to send a PM or post your questions here.

You'll want to start with a deglazer. Again, depending on whether or not your boots are genuine leather or man-made leather, you'll want to make sure you're using what works best for your boots. One thing that I've noticed in other threads is the amount of time people spend just on the first step. The purpose of deglazing your boots is to strip away the manufacturer's coating from the leather. Think in terms of stripping wax off a car. A lot of experts tell you that it is not necessary to spend hours on this step! You're not trying to get down to bare leather--you just want to remove that clear, waxy coating from the leather. Naturally, some of the original dye is going to rub off and that's okay too. Just don't think you're required to rub all of the original dye off during the preparation step. If you really want to spend all that time doing so, by all means, knock yourself out. It's just not required to achieve a nice finish. Here, I'm simply using an old T-shirt to strip the leather and prep it for painting. Cotton balls are a popular tool for this process as well. I'm applying the deglazer in a circular motion. You don't have to press hard but you want to make sure that you are thorough and you can use Q-tips for places that might be hard to reach. It's also okay if you should happen to get any of the deglazer onto the gusset--its not going to ruin anything. What you might begin to notice while you're doing this is that the leather may feel "softer" or more pliable. The reason being, the protective seal is coming off and the natural tendencies of the leather will start to appear. You might also see slight imperfections in the leather itself, creases, blemishes, and tiny wrinkles. Again, this is what natural leather looks like! It's the shoe polishes and sealers that tend to hide these little things in the end. Here I'm confident that I've done a thorough job. You'll notice that there's some of the black dye on my rag but you'll also see that the boot still looks black. Again, that's okay! Once you've completed this initial step, wipe your boots with a clean, dry cloth to remove any excess deglazer and let them dry a little bit before moving onto the painting step. The Deglazer that I'm using is alcohol based so it actually dries really fast! And here's the other alcohol-based product that I tend to use. It, too, has a tendency to dry up really fast...

Finally... I'm probably going to spend my weekend converting these from black to white!

Today, I'm hoping to spend some time with my boots and start the process of getting getting them white. Honestly, the only things that stands between me and my 501 application are these boots, painting the AB buttons and correcting a couple of minor fitting issues with my suit, Everything minus these boots could be knocked out within a few hours so I'm going to tackle the boots first since they will take some time... Here are the three basic chemicals one would typically need for a job like this. I have a bottle of Fiebings Deglazer, a bottle of the Angelus Acrylic leather paint, and the Angelus Acrylic Finisher. You can find these on Amazon for about $10 each. Having a deglazer is important because you want to strip off that clear manufacturer sealer. Let me point out that several leather experts say that you want to choose your deglazer appropriately. Some experts say that you can use an alcohol based product for real leather and you can use acetone for man-made leather. I don't know if that is true but I know that the Fiebings brand that I'm using is designed for genuine leathers and the label specifically says "Not recommended for man-made leathers." A few other things you'll need (not shown here) are some rags or cotton balls (I'll likely be using an old white T-shirt), some masking tape (the blue painters tape works) some brushes and a place where you can work safely. You may also need a bottle of white fabric paint to color the elastic gusset on the sides. A few people rely on the Tulip brand that you can find pretty much anywhere. The Angelus Acrylic Leather paint can be applied using an airbrush or sponge pad. A lot of videos that I've seen on the process use your basic paint brushes with a "fan brush" being the most popular. I don't have an airbrush or spray brush so I will be using various brushes. One concern that I had was using an "acrylic" paint. One might assume that an acrylic paint (vs. latex paint) will crack but a lot of leather experts say that this paint should not crackle or peel.

My boots finally arrived a couple of days ago and I am finally getting around to posting my first impressions and some photos... ----------

I thought I would share some recent photos of where I currently stand with my suit and post some observations about how it's turned out so far.... Ignore the fact that I'm still a barefooted trooper. My boots are on their way from across the Pond and should be arriving in a couple of weeks. I still have to paint the AB buttons and I have a new set of TD clips coming from Tony, this week, so I will have my TD finished. 1) It's really hot! I was dressed inside with air conditioning and I was still sweating. I hope to have fans installed inside the helmet but we'll see how that goes. 2) Like Luke said in ANH, "I can't see a thing in this helmet!" It's true! I can slightly turn my head side to side but to tilt my head forwards or backwards is really difficult. I can see straight ahead but if a child should be standing right in front of me, it's possible that I might not see him. 3) The snap for the left shoulder bell tore from the elastic strap on the shoulder bridge so I will have to re-sew it into place. 4) It's really difficult to put this on by myself. Perhaps I need to re-think the process of suiting up but the more pieces I put on, the more limited my range of motion becomes. You can see that the belt is crooked and it's really difficult to reach back there and pulling it tight without it looking crooked. 5) I'm not certain if I would be able to kneel or sit in this thing. The tops of the thighs cut into my groin if I attempt to raise my legs and if I try to sit, they cut me into the backs of my knees. Perhaps, they're too long. 6) The latex paint is already starting to peel from the hand guards. I originally put 5 or 6 coats of paint on them but there are a couple of spots where the paint is starting to peel off. 7) The chest plate is riding too damn high! You can see from the front pic that there's a huge gap between the chest plate and the AB plate. The elastic loops are starting to loose their strength and I'm thinking that I can fix this issue by shortening the elastic loops on the brackets that I've installed. That's pretty much most of my initial observations. I'm sure some of you will have other comments to make. Let me know what you think.

I appreciate the feedback. Like I said, I will definitely post pics and my personal review of the boots once they arrive.

I've been searching for boots since the day I went on the waiting list for my armor. Naturally the first vendor I looked at was TKBoots. Needless to say, they never have anything in stock and have been "ramping up for production" for what seems to have been forever now. My next option was Imperial Boots but (again) I can't seem to find anyone willing to answer my emails. I was actually looking forward to buying from Imperial because they sell the black TX boots that I could dye white (like the originals). I decided to expand my search and I'm surprised to find that "chelsea" and "jodhpur" boots appear to be a European commodity. Just about every seller I found was somewhere in the UK and severe of them won't ship to the states Anyway, I took my search to Amazon and found a pair of Roamers Leather Jodhpur Equestrian Riding Boots. You can see them from this link... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PI2T0VK?refRID=Y91DERAGT73KGMJ7E71W&ref_=pd_cart_vw_1_1_p I ordered them along with a bottle of Fiebings deglazer and white Angelus paint. It might take a while to get my boots in as they are coming out of the UK but I will definitely be back to this thread with pics and a review. It's really a sigh of relief to finally get my boots ordered. My suit will be complete soon and all I really need at this point is a blaster.

Perhaps it's the angle of the photos but your thigh armor apears to be overlapping the shin armor. The knee plate looks like it's tucked inside the thigh.

Awesome job, Tony! Lots of valuable information contained within this thread!