Need baby shoes bronzed or alternative

A. Dear Ms. Walker:

When I see a request such as yours, my immediate response is, "don't try it yourself." The various chemical preparations needed to sensitize, make shoes conductive, and plating chemistry baths contain chemicals that should not enter your home. This plating is best left to a professional who does this for a living. Any rinse waters will have to be waste treated and sludges legally disposed. This may need Federal or local permitting by appropriate agencies.

Then there is a safety issue. Persons doing this should be properly trained in the safe handling and usage of these chemicals. I hope that I have discouraged you from going into the shoe plating venture.

If you want to read more about this, there was an old DuPont Bulletin, years ago dealing exactly with the Plating of Baby Shoes. I don't know if any are still in print, but they were issued out of Wilmington, Delaware. Reading this would strictly be an academic exercise and in no way a suggestion to go into this finishing on your own.

Ed Budman [dec]
- Pennsylvania
With deep sadness we advise that our good friend Ed passed away Nov. 24, 2018

A. Sonya, there are other ways to bronze shoes...the type of bronzing we do, you can do in your kitchen at home...it's a lot of fun ... good luck in your endeavor.

Barbey Richardson
- Lyman South Carolina

A. Dear Sonya,

I started to bronze in 1994-1996 and was very successful I even bronzed baby clothes. I haven't done anything for a while. I started again two weeks ago, and intend to make a full time business of it on a part-time basis apart from my regular job. I have just emailed a supplier to get their latest in prices, design and cost of bulk items. I think if your product has good quality, you can find the customers, in it for the love of it more than the money, and you purchase enough supply to make a turnover and not dip into your earnings to resupply you can make it. I hope we can stay in touch and share ideas. Hope you respond.

Marco Nairn
- Bahamas
2001

A. Hi Denise. Yes, shoes can be coated with bronze-colored pastes, and paints, and lacquers as an alternative. But somebody please help me understand this situation.

What do they mean that they can't be electroplated because they are too old? Rocks & bones have been plated from before Pebbles & Bam-Bam were fitted for their first shoes. What exactly is it about old baby shoes that someone would call them unplateable?

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. The age of a shoe, or any other item for that matter, generally is unimportant if it is going to be electroplated. We have bronzed shoes dating back to the mid 1800's with beautiful results. Plating the shoe is about the only way to stop the deterioration and preserve what is left of it.

Annie Mitchell
San Dimas, California, USA

A. Hello,

It doesn't matter when the shoes were made, it can be electroplated in bronze. I have been bronzing baby shoe for over 12 years, no matter how old the item is.

Ken Osborn
Ontario Canada
2002

A. re: Plating very old shoes. We have plated almost "everything". Shoes made back 100 years ago, or so, are normally made of leather and most will be very brittle, and when you try to shape them, they may break like a cracker. This of course would make it hard to "shape". But they can be shaped easily by "wetting them" with water. Once they are wet, they will bend easily to come up with the shape you want. Then, proceed to process as you normally would any shoe.

Dallas Nichols
2003
- Sebring, Florida, U.S.A.

A. Try this site www.pioneerthinking.com/bronzeshoes.html

Jim Ford
- Ft. McMurray, Alberta, Canada

Ed. note March 2023: Jim's link is now broken. The current link is:
pioneerthinking.com/how-you-can-bronze-baby-shoes/

Thanks for a great link, Jim, but readers should note that this procedure is for application of a bronze-like paint, whereas traditional shoe bronzing is an actual electroplated copper or bronze. Some say the difference is inconsequential and they're welcome to; and some say the difference is night and day.

Marleen, please remember that people will not beat a path to your door for your service--you need to find the customers and sell them. I mention this because I've seen ads implying the opposite, whereas my experience from running this popular finishing site for many years is that there doesn't seem to be actual hoards of people out there clamoring to find a shoe bronzing service :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi, Peter: Marlene's issues may or may not have been fully resolved by the link that Jim F offered. I don't know, we asked for clarification, but she hasn't returned.

Topic 0162, "How to Bronze Baby Shoes" is quite long and exhaustive.
Topic 14005, "Electroplating Leather, Shoes, and Nonmetal Objects" is more oriented towards trying to solve the problems that shoe bronzers encounter.

Real electroplated copper or bronze is, in my own estimation, something you won't easily learn from a book but by an apprenticeship, and should be done in an industrial setting rather than a residence. However, you can look at our FAQ on Plating Organic Materials as well as the referenced links and threads and see if any of it proves helpful. Good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey