SoleHeeled offers convenient and affordable R.M. Williams boot repairs by Australia’s best craftsmen, with free shipping to your door. This case study outlines how we recently repaired a customer’s R.M. Williams boots.
The boots
These RM Williams Dynamic Flex Craftsman boots had seen many better days, having been worn to years and beaten up as one might reasonably expect of a pair of classic RMs. The soles and heels had become heavily worn, the heel counters were torn and the leather uppers were dirty, scuffed and discoloured. When this customer reached out to us for a free diagnosis / quote, we offered to perform a full re-sole and re-heel, re-line the heel counters and restore the leather uppers.
Dynamic Flex full re-sole
We began by removing the old heel blocks along the original soles along the entire length of each boot. We then stitched a new pair of Dynamic Flex soles onto the boots, covering the full length of each boot and stitched securely into place.
Dynamic Flex re-heel and heel block build-up
With the heel blocks removed, we proceeded to pull off the old heel caps — the layer of rubber at the very bottom of the heel blocks. Since the heel blocks themselves had been worn into, we had to build them up with successive layers of rubber. With the heel blocks now levelled off, we installed a new pair of RM Williams Dynamic Flex heel caps and reattached the restored heel blocks to the soles.
Heel counter re-lining
A common problem we see with RM Williams boots that have been worn as much as this pair was is the inner lining tearing — usually around the toes or the heels at the back of the boots, known as the ‘heel counters’. In this case, the heel counters had torn and were starting to put pressure on the outer stitching along the boot’s rear seam.
In order to repair the lining, we re-lined the heel counters, cutting a new piece of leather that we glue and stitch into place around the inside of the back of each boot. We generally do this on both boots in a pair, even when the lining on only one of the boots is damaged, for consistency.
Leather cleaning, conditioning and recolouring
We started off by cleaning and conditioning the leather, to remove any dirt and other impurities on the surface of the boots and to nourish the leather, making it supple and ready for recolouring. We then polish the leather to buff out lighter scratches and scuffs as much as possible and finally apply new colour to the leather uppers in refinishing the leather.
Have a pair of RM Williams boots needing repair or restoration?
Our experienced craftsmen have been trusted by not only generations of Australians but also local and international brands (including RM Williams, Versace and Canali) with the repair and restoration of designer boots since 1955. If you have a beloved pair of RM Williams boots in need of repair or restoration, ask us for a free diagnosis/quote by completing our online order form — where you can upload photos of the boots and let us know exactly what you would like done to them, or let us advise you on what the boots need based on the photos.
SoleHeeled serves all of Australia through its free 2-way shipping service:
Order online: Answer a few questions to get an instant quote and complete your order.
Send your boots: Drop your boots off at a local post office for free packaging and shipping to us.
We repair: A team of experienced craftsmen will carefully repair your boots.
We return: We'll deliver your repaired boots to you, wherever you are in Australia.
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