Muddy High Heels

OK, I cannot think of a better place to post this or of a group of people who are more likely to have an answer, maybe one of you can help?

I have some old high heels from back in the early 1980's and they are made from a synthetic material that has over the last couple of years started to peel and crack. Anyone know how to prevent this from happening or at least is there anything that can be done to restore them?

One pair got so bad all the top layer came off leaving just the backing which was a kind of grey. They actually don't look out of place like this once cleaned up to get off all the little tatty bits around the edge, but I have some that are not quite as good backing and have not all flaked off. I really don't want to loose these shoes as they came from an old colleague of mine who donated them and can never be replaced.

Any ideas are much appreciated. (That is regards saving them not destroying them.)

Thanks.

001, sorry for your loss. I really don’t know any way to save the synthetic materials. I like real leather shoes but sometimes the lining is synthetic and starts to crack and split. I haven't found any way to save them.
To preserve leather uppers I use neatsfoot oil but I have used plain old 10-30w it seems to work fine.

With it cracking, it might be loss in that way, as it indicates the material likely had dried up. Not sure what you can do aside from taking them to a shoe repair place, and I'm not sure if it might be worth it in terms of price.

Of course, there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to put new lives into your shoes, by making a new top layer for it. Maybe you may wanna give a shot at those. I have a pair that is much younger, but had that happen to me, and I'm planning to do something like that myself.

Not sure I'd want to take them to a shoe repair place, I may get some odd looks as they have a history if you know what I mean. But i do want to save them as they came from an old colleague that I had a good relatonship with back when I was younger. We worked in an office and she would leave her shoes under her desk each evening when she left, wearing a pair of boots home. Useually a different pair every day, those were exciting times. I may try looking online, if anyone knows any links to save me trawling through pages of stuff that is no use it would help. Thanks.

It depends on why this happen. If its just dried up, Sometime 100% pure mineral oils works.

If its because of yeast or mold, 70% rubbing alcohol works.

Goodluck.

Mainly just dried up due to old age I reckon. Goes without saying there is an element of abuse (Fitting of other forums.) but the main reason is just oldness where the material has cracked and the surface peeled back. Will the oil work on old plastic materials?