How to Restore Faded White Bauer Logos on Plastic Hockey Boots

If you've owned or worked with modern Bauer hockey boots, you've probably seen this before.

The boots themselves can still be in excellent condition, but the white Bauer lettering on the plastic outer shell starts to fade, wear away or become patchy. It can make an otherwise clean pair of boots look far more tired than they actually are. The good news is that, in many cases, restoring the white Bauer logo is incredibly simple.

All I use is a white paint pen.

Why Do White Bauer Logos Fade?

On many newer Bauer recreational hockey boots, the Bauer branding is applied to the moulded plastic outer shell. Over time, normal use, cleaning and general wear can cause the white colouring within the logo to fade or disappear completely in places.

The moulded Bauer lettering is often still perfectly visible in the plastic. It's simply just the white paint that has worn away. This means you don't necessarily need to repaint the entire boot or attempt a complicated restoration. You just need to carefully put the colour back.

Restoring the Bauer Logo With a White Paint Pen

For this job, I use a simple white paint pen purchased from Amazon. Before starting, make sure the area around the Bauer logo is clean and completely dry. Any dirt, grease or cleaning product left on the plastic can affect how well the paint adheres. Once the surface is prepared, carefully colour over the faded sections of the Bauer lettering with the paint pen. Because the Bauer logo is already moulded into the plastic, the existing raised lettering acts as a natural guide. Take your time and follow the shape of the logo rather than trying to apply a heavy coat of paint in one go. 2 thin coats are much better than 1 thick one!

Build the Colour Up Gradually

Depending on how badly the original white colouring has faded, one pass with the paint pen may be enough. For heavily faded Bauer logos, I prefer to apply a light first coat, allow it to dry and then go over any areas that still look patchy. Building the colour gradually gives you much more control and usually produces a cleaner finish than trying to cover everything with a thick layer of paint. Once finished, allow the paint to dry fully before handling or cleaning the boots.

A Simple Restoration That Makes a Big Difference

This isn't a complicated skate restoration technique. In fact, it's probably one of the simplest jobs I do in the Pabloskates workshop. But visually, the difference can be significant.

Restoring the faded white Bauer lettering can immediately make a pair of plastic Bauer hockey boots look cleaner, sharper and far better presented. For the cost of a simple white paint pen and a few minutes of careful work, it's an easy way to improve the appearance of older or well-used Bauer boots. You can see the process in our YouTube Short, where I restore the faded Bauer logo using this simple method.