DIY Network

Painted Luggage Hit the road in style! From "B. Original" episode DBOR-512

Carry some color on your next trip!

Michele Beschen believes just about anything can be painted – even suitcases. Colorful luggage is making a comeback, and the B. Original host has tips that make it easy to transform battered or outdated bags into hip travel totes you'll be proud to carry.

Dig through the closet or hit the thrift shops to find a bag that needs a facelift, then pull out the paints. This project is an especially good way to use up those leftover wall paints you can’t quite bear to throw away. Even better, you’ll always be able to find your bags at the airport luggage claim.

advertisement

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

Painted Luggage

Materials:

old luggage
latex primer or Gesso
painter’s tape
paintbrushes
acrylic artist paints or wall paints

Note: This project works well on any suitcase material: fabric, nylon and even hard-shell cases accept the paint well.

• Clean off the suitcase surfaces, then give the body of the case a good coat of latex primer or Gesso. Don’t get the paint too close to the small handles, zippers and other mechanics; you may want to mask those areas with painter’s tape. Michele Beschen recommends using a 2" paintbrush to prime large areas, then switching to a small art brush to get into smaller areas (figure A).

• When the primer is dry, get out the paints. Michele Beschen likes to use regular wall paint for this project: It’s very durable, and she tends to have leftover paint around the workshop. Acrylic artist paints also work well.

• Apply a base color coat to the case and let it dry
  (figure B).

• Add colors, shapes and designs as desired (figure C).

• Suitcases usually need just one coat of paint. Once it’s dry, pack up and take your creativity on the road!