How Birkenstock sandals are professionally restored

• Rio Jongsae Kim is the owner of Kim's Shoe and Bag Repair.
• He shows us how to restore a pair of Birkenstock Gizeh Birko-Flor women's sandals that retail for about $100.
• This includes cleaning the footbed, which is black and worn, back to its original leather color; replacing the soles entirely; filling the cracks in the cork; and sealing it to make it look brand new again.

The following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: My name is Rio. I'm the owner of Kim's Shoe and Bag Repair. I fix shoes and bags. Birkenstocks are one of the most popular footwears in the industry. The longer you wear them, the more comfortable they become. That is why my client brought me her Birkenstock sandals for repair instead of throwing them out. These sandals have three main things to be repaired. First, outsoles are worn out. Second, suede insoles are very dirty and stained. Third, the edge of the cork footbed is dried and cracked.

So, first thing I'm doing, trying to dust away from the Birkenstock with a horsehair brush. And then use the knife, trying to remove the old worn-out outsoles. And use the grinder machine to grind or sand down the bottom of the beds to make them even. And then prepare the new Birkenstock outsole for the replacements. So, I draw the line with the existing sole. The EVA also is very soft, and it's exactly the same as the Birkenstock sole. Then cut the new Birkenstock sole.

I apply the adhesive to the bottom of the footbed and then also apply the adhesive to the new outsoles. Once it's dry, you can push together to stick and leave them for a couple of hours to dry. And then use a knife to cut out the edge of the outsole. And then use the machine to trim the outsole edges to make them, you know, naturally smooth.

So, now what I'm doing here is to clean the insole. Use the suede gum to lift the dirt out. After that, you can use suede cleaner to clean out the dirt. While you are doing that, use a dry rag to wipe off the dirt foam. And then lastly what we do is to seal the cork, because the corks are, once the cork is dried up, you'll get cracks. One of my customers, she went to the beach. I found cracks on the front and back parts. So to protect the cracking, we have to use a Cork Renew. You can apply the sealer to all around the cork.