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Gold plated copper sneaker caps

Q. Hi, I have a pair of sneakers with gold plated copper toe caps. One of them had a nasty stain on it and I tried to remove it with steel wool. It had taken the gold plate off and left an orange tinge. Is there anything I can use to fix it?

gold tip sneakers b gold tip sneakers a

Regards Lynette

Lynette Crawford
- Queensland Australia
September 27, 2022

Hello Lynette,
I you plan to wear these tennis shoes on a regular basis I'm afraid that the gold plating won't last anyway. If it's gold plating on copper mesh, the copper coating will migrate into the gold layer and exhibit a whole different color. This will happen especially if they are worn outside, subjected to weathering. There's not much you can do in this case unless you take them to a professional and they can possibly brush plate both shoes, which would not be easy and expensive.

Mark L BAKER
- WINSTON SALEM

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