In this episode of Customs & Restoration with Vick, we’re tackling one of the most iconic and legendary pairs in sneaker history – the 1985 Kentucky Air Jordan 1. This isn’t just any ordinary shoe repair – it’s a full-blown resurrection, breathing new life into a shoe that’s been through the wringer for nearly 40 years.
With the help of Vick’s good friend A1 Restorations, we meticulously break down the restoration process step by step. Here’s a breakdown of how we did it:
* Detaching the Sole from the Upper: They began by carefully separating the sole from the upper. After decades of wear and tear, the sole had lost its glue bond, so we used heat and a few tools to gently pry the two pieces apart. This process requires precision to avoid damaging the vintage leather and the already fragile materials.
* Cutting the Sock Liner & Removing the Cracked Heel Cup: Next, Vick and A1 had to dive into the guts of the shoe. Using sharp blades, we carefully cut into the sock liner, exposing the damaged and cracked heel cup inside. Decades of wear had caused the heel cup to crumble, leaving the shoe without its structural support. Once exposed, we meticulously cleaned out the deteriorated foam and removed every last piece of broken-down material within the shoe.
* Cleaning the Uppers: We used Reshoevn8r cleaning solution and the Soft Bristle Brush to restore the leather and fabric. This solution gently but effectively lifted out years of dirt, grime, and oxidation, bringing the upper back to life without causing damage to the original material.
* Preparing the Donor Sole: Now that the upper was all cleaned up, we shifted focus to the donor shoe. A good trick Vick likes to use to remove the soles is acetone and the steamer. Next, he used a special technique – dyeing the sole with coffee to match the aged look of the Kentucky uppers. This step is crucial in giving the restoration an authentic vintage look, ensuring the sole wouldn’t look out of place against the naturally aged upper.
* Dremeling the Donor Sole & Prepping the Upper for Glue: As Vick worked on the donor sole, dremeling away old glue and smoothing it out, A1 took charge of prepping the upper. This involved roughening up the leather in areas where glue would be applied. This process helps the glue adhere properly and ensures a strong, lasting bond between the upper and the new sole.
* Creating New Heel Cups & Inserting Fresh Foam Material: It’s time to start piecing the shoe back together so they started by creating brand new heel cups. They then cut out new foam pieces, which were carefully shaped and fitted into the sock liner area. This provides the necessary support and structure to the heel, restoring both the functionality and comfort of the shoe.
* Stitching the Sock Liner: Vick fired up the post-bed sewing machine to reattach the sock liner. This machine is perfect for getting into tight spaces and allows for precise stitching that holds everything in place. With steady hands and careful attention to detail, the liner was sewn back together, ensuring the inside of the shoe felt as good as it looked.
* Gluing the Shoe Back Together: Now came one of the most critical parts of the restoration – gluing the upper back onto the donor sole. A1 applied specialized adhesive to both the upper and sole, carefully aligning the two pieces and pressing them together. This required precision and patience, as any misalignment could ruin the final product. Once the glue had cured, the sole was locked in place using sole thread and a sewing awl.
After days of detailed work, the 1985 Kentucky Air Jordan 1 had been brought back to life – almost as if it had traveled back in time to its release year. With its refreshed sole, cleaned and conditioned upper, and repaired interior structure, this legendary sneaker is ready for another 40 years of admiration.
This restoration was not just about fixing a shoe – it was about preserving a piece of sneaker history, a symbol of culture and style that continues to inspire today. We hope you enjoyed the journey with us and learned a few tricks of the trade along the way. Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more in-depth restorations, and let us know in the comments what iconic sneaker you want to see brought back to life next!
Hey you guys don't sleep on our August Giveaway this month we're giving away The reimagine pack and this time there's Going to be four lucky winners that's Right four lucky winners and each winner Will get to pick one of the pairs from The reimagine pack we got the Royals White cements Chicagos and the breads All you got to do is subscribe to Rejuvenator and drop a comment down Below which pair you would pick and the Size giveaway runs till the end of August good luck everyone today we're Going to be working on one of the rarest 85 droning ones to ever come out not the Storm Blues but the Kies you don't see These every day these shoes need a lot Of work so for this big task I brought Out my good homie A1 Restorations what's Up Vic very happy to be here once again And I'm excited to work on These these things are cooked but we Want to go about the restoration the Right way they need new soles ankle Padding what's the first step in this Process first we're going to take off All the stitching on the Soles and get To removing them it's really tough to Get them off so we're going to go ahead And use some flight heads and primy them Off [Music] All right guys as you can see that was a Struggle getting those sols off took a
Lot of work had to use supp pliers Flatheads honestly during that process We should have been wearing a mask the Insides of the sols are disgusting find Us the air unit the polyurethane all of That is complete dust stuff that you Should not breathe in so after we're Done talking we're going to put these Back on we got to remove the bottom Boards so we can access the sock liner Material the padding inside the sock Liner material is super crunchy it's Stiff we got to take all of that out so We can replace it with some new one Again this is a dirty process so we're Going to be wearing mask any tips for This process so the sock liner is Attached by this stitching right here And we got to remove it so that way we Could lift it up and get as much access To the inside of the sock liner as Possible in order to replace all the Foam that goes in there that's right you Can use a seam ripper or an xacto knife For this process just don't cut into the Leather All right so far so good we got the Majority of the stuff cleaned out from The inside it's still pretty dirty we Got to spend some more time scraping Brushing and using the compressor to Fully clean it out before we install new Parts there's still one more thing we Got to replace and that's the heal
Counter area as you can see in this area It's super crushed we got to replace it Completely so this is what the heel Counter looks like once it's taken out And without it you can see that there's Zero structure so so we're going to have To go ahead and get some material that's Just like this cut it out and replace it We'll do that in a bit right now we got To get this shoe all cleaned up [Music] [Music] All right now that the internals are all Cleaned out let's give the shoe a good Deep clean from the outside the shoe is Pretty creased up in the back area and The toe box so I'm going put it on the Last so while I'm cleaning it and it Dries it can hopefully get some of the Shape back we're only going to be using Our rejuvenator solution and the sofal Brush for this Cleaning Hey bro I can do myself my bad bro Trying to help On shoes are all cleaned up we're going To put these outside underneath some Arizona Sun to dry them within 10 Minutes while they're drying let's work On the donors the donors we're going to Be using for this project are the 85 Georgetown 1 the reason why we're using These is because it has the closest Colorway that matches the kuy and it has
85 shape closest to the originals cool Let's start deconstruction got to take The laces out insole and start yanking Out the thread from the Midsole here's my Scissors to cleanly remove the uppers From the soles I'm going to pour some Acetone out outside let it sit for a few Minutes then I'll come back inside with The steamer to finish the Job it's what we need donor SS are Removed super easy stuff as is the sot Is way too white the uppers are heavily Used we got to age them for this we're Going to be using the coffee method While I do this step a1's going to be Out there prepping the ERS to wage the Soles I'm going to get the coffee ready Put the soles into the pan pour the Coffee on it wait about 5 to 10 minutes Until I get that perfect age Tone these look great all right let's go Rinse These well Vic is inside and joining the AC he sent me outside to do all the Dirty work which means I'm going to be Using a Dremel to remove all the old Glue on the Kies and all that old Gunk So that way we could get a good Bond When we put the Glue I'm not sure what a1's doing out There he's taking a long time but I got To keep it moving next step using the Dremel with a metal drill bit we got to
Remove all the old glue from the inside Of the sole luckily the coffee stay in The glue so it should be really easy to Know where to [Music] Dremel so we got everything prepped the Uppers and the soles so what's the next VI the next step is to replace the Internals we'll start with the heel Counter the old one is toes we're not Going to use that one luckily I got the Pattern piece to a new heel counter Right here for the specific size I also Got some brand new heel counter material Basically what I'm going to do is lay it Down on the material trace it out cut it Then we'll glue it onto the Shoe heel counters are fully cut out now With some bar super stick we'll apply it Onto the heel counters and the inside of The shoe and let it Cure while the heel counters are curing We're going to trace out the pattern for The padding and cut it Out so we got the heel counter glued in And the padding cut out now it's time to Glue it in A1 killed it with the padding swap it's Nice and soft all that crunchiness is Fully gone now we still need to lock in The sock liner remember the thread that We removed from the side panels on all Four shoes but we got to replace it now It looks good on the outside but it also
Locks in the sock ler from the Inside now the next step is to apply Glue to everything the SS the uppers and The lasting boards all right bro I'll do The right shoe I'll do the Left [Music] [Music] Could so the glue process could be a Long and tedious step but we got to make Sure that we do it right and get every Single inch of the shoe and every part This will make sure that when we put the Shoes back together they'll last for Years to [Music] Come glue is fully applied you're gluing These right yeah all right put them Together so what's the first step so We're going to measure everything up Make sure sure that it lines up Correctly heat it up section by section Heel first then the toe and sides after So I to do the toe first then the heel Why do you do that I don't know I think It's just how I started and I just stuck To it all right man sounds good once That part is installed we'll insert These yep and I'll take care of the Stitching [Music] All right everyone's done with the easy Part now on to the hard part we're going To reapply the stitching with a sewing
Go and some age thread Are you judging my work anyone we did a Good job proud of you buddy don't touch Me bro this restoration is basically Complete the last step which is really Important we got to spray some mink oil All over the leather again these shoes Are almost 40 years old we want to make Sure they last another 40 years so we're Going to spray a heavy coat on both Sneakers that is sit for a couple hours So leather can absorb the mink then Whatever is left we'll brush it in All right last step we got to do is lace Them up these laces are original to the 85s so I gave them a good deep clean They are aged but they go nicely with The rest of the Shoe all right bro after a few days We're finally done what do you think I Think they came out great Vic we did a Lot of work it took a long time but they Really came out great dude there's a few Things I love about this restoration the First one being we kept this shoe for The most part as original as possible if You look at it the Upp We just gave them a good clean we kind Of restructured the shoe if you guys Remember this back area on both shoes Were completely crushed but after Replacing the heel counter area we gave It some beautiful structure and not just That the collar area as well A1 did a
Great job with the padding swap doesn't Sound crunchy anymore they're 100% Comfortable now they're soft they're Wearable they got new sols new air units Pretty much new internals that way they Last another 20 30 years that's right These 85s are built like tanks now I'm Sure you guys are wondering why didn't We paint the uppers on these shoes There's a couple of reasons for one the Owner did not want any paint on these Shoes and that's kind of a good thing When it comes to 85s it's kind of a hit Or miss you don't want to start painting The shoes that devalues a sneaker and in This case the owner of these is going to Wear them as is and I agree in this case I think it's better to leave it as is Thanks again for having me Vic I'm Really happy that I got to work on these With you especially since I've never Worked on this colorway you know I've Worked on a lot of 85s but now I got to Add another one to the list n thank you A1 this was a lot of fun we hung out for A whole week took care of the Tokyo 5ivs Took care of this restoration ate some Good food learned a lot of good tricks From you this was great bro amazing as Always Bab that was a nice one man hope you Guys enjoy this video drop a comment on Which 85 you want to see me work on next This is Vic Almighty A1 restoration
We'll catch you guys on Monday see you Guys
