This Pair is Rare!

Have you ever seen the Mike Bibby Jordan 13 Low PE? This extremely rare pair of Air Jordan PE’s made its way to Vick Almighty courtesy of a friend, and now it’s time to bring them back to life with RESHOEVN8R Shoe Care products. 

This pair of Air Jordan 13 Lows is pretty beat up. Besides giving these a deep clean with the RESHOEVN8R Signature Shoe Cleaning Kit, there is a lot of other detailed work that will need to be done to bring these up to our standards. 

If you don’t know who Mike Bibby is, stop reading right now and look up some highlights from his time at the University of Arizona or with the Sacramento Kings. Bibby is an absolute baller and being named a Jordan Brand athlete is a reflection of that. 

Only the best of the best got their own Jordan PE’s, and Bibby was one of them.

First things first

As with any good restoration, the only way to kickstart the process is an overall deep clean of the sneaker. Vick inserted the Adjustable Shoe Tree, removed the shoelaces, and then started to hammer the uppers of the Air Jordan 13 Low PE with RESHOEVN8R Sneaker Cleaning Solution and the Three Brush Pack. 

Vick used the Soft Bristle Brush to clean both the inside and outside of the sneakers. Admittedly Vick was worried about the purple suede bleeding all over the white leather upper, but this didn’t end up being an issue. Vick was able to clean both the leather and suede with the Soft Bristle Brush without any trouble. 

Once the uppers were cleaned to his liking Vick used the Medium Bristle Brush to clean the iconic rubber pods of the Jordan 13, and then moved on to the Stiff Bristle Brush to scrub the rest of the sole. 

The preliminary clean with the Sneaker Cleaning Solution is done but the shoes still need some work. That’s exactly why the RESHOEVN8R Signature Shoe Cleaning Kit includes a Sneaker Laundry Bag so that you can throw your pair of kicks in the washing machine. 

Vick was pretty nervous to put a shoe this old in the washing machine, but luckily the shoes stayed intact throughout the wash and came out looking CLEAN. Vick then stuck the kicks in the Vick-2000 indoor UV setup to dry and remove any remaining yellowing on the upper, a great trick to remember for the next time you’re working on a shoe. 

If your white sneakers have any yellowing on the uppers, giving them some time under UV rays can help make them white again! 

We had some issues...

One of the big problems with this particular pair is the rubber pods which have been turned purple by the suede paneling. After trying a few different methods including applying glue over and over and tearing it off, the pods refused to give up their purple hue. 

You can’t win them all. 

Sole Separation 

All Vick can do is work even harder on the other parts of the restoration. The white leather upper needed a makeover, so Vick prepped the area with acetone and then subsequently painted both the upper and toe box area with a fresh coat of white paint. 

As with most shoes, this old, sole separation is pretty prevalent on this pair, particularly around the pods. After scraping the old glue away with an exacto knife, Vick used Barge Superstick to glue the sole back to the shoe. The process was pretty simple; all he had to do was apply the glue, let it cure for a few minutes, heat it up, and apply pressure. 

Again this is a great trick to master and learn if you restore a lot of older kicks because it’s pretty inevitable that you’re going to run into some sort of sole separation. 

The last thing to touch up is the Jumpman emblem which is looking a little dull. Vick uses only the most professional tools to restore sneakers…his silver Sharpie did an excellent job. Who knew that a silver Sharpie was this versatile? 

And with that, the restoration is now complete. The once trashed Mike Bibby Air Jordan 13 Low PE is back and looks better than ever. Despite the restoration not going completely to plan, the shoe turned out great. 

We made it! 

Learning to roll with the punches and make the most out of any situation or problem is key to becoming a great restorer of sneakers like Vick Almighty. 

Keep practicing, keep trying, and keep perfecting your craft. Would you have dared attempt a restoration of a sneaker that’s this old? Let us know down below. 

And as always, click over to our Youtube channel for more sneaker restorations and customs with Vick.