Just when your shoes or boots start to feel comfortable, you notice a split on the side of the sole. Or a heel begins to separate. You can take the culprit to a cobbler to have their sole repaired or their boot heel glued or you can do it yourself in a few seconds. There are a couple of options. Shoe Goo and an advanced or commercial grade cyanoacrylate (super glue).

sticky stuff for shoes is the favorite of the skateboarders as it will glue most things together and fill in some serious gaps left along the way by scraping parts of the shoes.

Super Glue and Krazy Glue are cyanoacrylates – that’s the chemical basis of Super glue or Krazy glue. Advanced or commercial grade super glues have features that make them a better solution than standard super glues.

Both types of products (Shoe Goo and superglue-type glues) have their uses. Both types of glue will last quite a while, so it’s good to have them on hand as they won’t go bad and will be available when you need them. Both will dry flexible.

Shoe Goo can be purchased at hardware and some sporting goods stores and certainly online. It is quite thick and comes in clear, white, and black. In fact, one can use it to rebuild a worn out heel in a boot or running shoe. It can be used to reattach an indentation in a shoe sole or heel, but since it’s so thick, I find a product like high-quality superglue (a commercial-grade cyanoacrylate) more helpful.

To rebuild a heel with shoe polish, you first need to use some sandpaper to roughen the surface. This gives the glue something to adhere to. Once this is done, simply squeeze some out of the tube and shape it with a stick. Most Shoe Goo packages come with a stick to apply. If you are going to layer to build up a bit more thickness, wait about 5-6 hours between applications. Wait 24 hours before walking on the boot or shoe. It dries shiny, but that will go away once you start walking.

If the sole has separated somewhere, you can carefully apply some glue and then press the two surfaces together. This is not the best glue for this type of application as it can get messy but it can be done with care. When you press the two surfaces together, something will come out and you can scrape with a piece of wood or metal to smooth the edge. Let this sit for 24 hours as well. It will be flexible when it heals.

How and when to use an advanced cyanoacrylate for a ‘shoe fix’

If you have a sole or heel that is starting to separate, Shoe Goo can get dirty very easily and if you are trying to repair a very nice pair of dress shoes or boots, this may not be the material to use. If you use super glue or Krazy Glue you can also run into problems because they often get brittle when they dry and once you start walking around in your shoes or boots they are very likely to break again.

Commercial grade cyanoacrylates are made from the same base as super glue but without the solvents, they will dry clear and flexible. They are extremely easy to use and being almost instant you don’t have to wait to put on your shoe or boot.

Some examples of types of situations where you might use this type of superglue: the toe of your sneaker or running shoe starts to crumble; the heel of a boot begins to separate or falls off; two layers of leather in dress shoes begin to separate.

One of the benefits of this type of product is that it will be absorbed. This means that if you put a drop on the edge of a crack or joint that is just beginning to split, it will go into that space. It will be as if you are attracted to him. This means less clutter.

So, for a crack in a shoe, try to hold the shoe or boot so that the crack is open as wide as possible and glue can run down it. Place the tip of the beak on the rim and gently squeeze a drop into the gap. If it’s long enough, you may need to run the tip of the bottle along the gap line while gently squeezing out some glue. Set the bottle aside and press the two surfaces firmly together. This type of glue takes only a few minutes to set. Give it a few more minutes and you can walk around in your shoes or boots. Be careful as some of the glue may come off when bringing the two surfaces together; hold the shoe so it doesn’t slide onto the top or other parts where a stain can be seen.

This makes it a great emergency solution: You’re ready to head to work or a party and discover that the heel of your dress shoe is loose. Get out your commercial-grade super glue, apply it, and in seconds you’re ready to go.

Both types of glue It will be waterproof when cured. With these two types of glue and a bit of tape you can fix almost anything.