WINGS LOGO STENCIL INSTRUCTIONS:
Here are some tips for applying my Jordan wings logo stencils. I always get lots of questions about this, so thought I’d post here for everyone.
To start with, watch how ChrisCustomKicks does it in this video to get the visual:
Take your time weeding the stencil (removing the small parts you don’t want), it can be tricky and takes time. Use something with a fine point (like a needle) and another tool (like tweezers) to hold down the stencil while you pull the weeded parts out. Some of them will stick and not want to come out, just be careful. It doesn’t need to 100% perfect – unless you make a huge mistake, it won’t really be too noticeable once you stencil it on.
Once I’m ready to apply the stencil to the shoe, I use the basketball in the middle and the outer tips of the two wings to align it. I start with the ball and then lightly press down to see if it’s good. If it’s not, I lift up and try again. Do not press down too firmly during this process, it will make pulling it back off and realigning more difficult.
Once aligned correctly, rub your fingers over it firmly to make sure it’s flush and stays on the shoe when you peel the transfer tape off. You can also hit it with some light heat before peeling the transfer tape off, this will help the stencil grab onto the shoe. If it the stencil tries to peel off with the tape, put the tape back down, rub harder, and try again until the stencil sticks to the shoe when you peel off. NOTE: Whenever peeling, always peel at a very sharp angle, right back along the shoe. Don’t pull the stencil or transfer tape up, peel them back, tightly.
The “AIR JORDAN” letters are tricky and might not fully line up over the old logo. Once the stencil is on the shoe, if needed I sometimes adjust each letter manually one at a time to make sure they all line up well.
Once the stencil is all set in place, quickly hit it with a heat gun or blow dryer to make sure it adheres tightly to the shoe. NOTE: If you’re using Oracal 651 vinyl (black), it is very high-tack, meaning it’s very sticky, and it gets even stickier when you apply heat. Be VERY careful when peeling it off or it could peel off your paint underneath! To make sure this doesn’t happen, I use minimal heat to set the stencil onto the shoe, and peel back very very slowly. If you’re using Oracal 811 vinyl (white), it’s less sticky and can take more heat-setting.
For airbrushing, I typically do 2-3 light coats of paint on the logo with about 12-15 min dry time in between. With Oracal 811 vinyl, I apply some light heat in between coats to speed up the drying. With Oracal 651 vinyl, I don’t usually use heat because it increases the tackiness (stickiness) and you run the risk of peeling up the base layer of paint underneath your logo when you peel off the stencil.
Once the logo color looks good, I peel the stencil off SLOWLY once my final coat of paint has dried. Make sure the paint is pretty dry or you it might smear when pulling the stencil off. You can use the same tool you used to weed the stencil for this step, but be careful not to accidentally poke too deep or you’ll dig into your base coat on the shoe.
Another great tip: If a stencil is going to bleed, it’s usually going to happen with the first coat of paint. To make sure that the stencil comes out clean, make your first coat of paint the same color as the shoe before painting on the logo color. EXAMPLE: If you’re painting a black logo on a red collar, paint in this order: 1 coat red, then 2 coats black.
It’s always good to have some scrap leather lying around (like an old belt) to practice before trying directly on the shoe. Also, the wings logo on a lot of Jordan 1s are debossed, which can make it a bit tricky to perfectly line up the stencil. Like I said though, in my experience it doesn’t have to be perfect. You can always touch up with a fine brush after.
Hope that helps. If you want to purchase any stencils from me, shoot me a dm.