Hi Everyone!
I have a really fun (but messy) project to share with you! A Paint Poured suitcase! “Paint pouring” has really been my thing lately, so I’m often thinking “What can I paint next?” I had a trip coming up, which was actually a Day camp for Decorative painters, so…I decided to paint my suitcase! This is the original purple suitcase that I started with (almost forgot to take a before pic.) . It opened up all the way, so I painted one side at a time.
Here’s what you’ll need for this project:
- A suitcase
- Acrylic paints in various colors, including white
- Disposable gloves
- Old panty hose
- Popsicle sticks
- Polycrylic topcoat
- BIN primer
- Plastic cups
- Drop cloth
- Painters Tape
- Plastic
- Level
- Vaseline
PREP:
Once you’ve decided on the paint colors you want to use, go ahead and mix them individually with a pouring medium and set aside. ( You’ll probably want to prepare two cups of white because you’ll use this color the most.) I like to use Floetrol as my pouring medium. 
Using plastic cups, I mix 1 part paint to 3 parts Floetrol, i.e., if I pour out 3 oz. of paint, I will add 9 oz. of Floetrol. Stir well! Note: Sometimes, the Floetrol will have tiny particles in it that can’t be seen until your project dries, so I put a piece of panty hose over the spout to catch any of these particles as I pour out the Floetrol (See Picture). Also, this project takes a good bit of paint so have enough prepared!
Prepare for a mess!! I used a drop cloth, lots of plastic, and a washing machine tray to catch my paint!
Important: Make sure your suitcase is level! I use a level to make sure. If it’s not level, the paint could possibly flow off.
STEP 1: TAPE
Using Painters Tape, tape around the suitcase where you don’t want paint to touch, such as the handle, zipper, etc. I would also rub vaseline along the zipper. I didn’t do this, but I wish I had! Even though you’ve taped areas, some paint can still leak through and did in my case. See the picture above, where I’ve taped some areas?
STEP 2: PRIME/BASE COAT
You’ll want to prime your surface with BIN primer, so the paint will stick. Let the primer dry, then give it one coat of acrylic paint, using one of the colors that you’ll be pouring as well. This is good to do in case some areas of the suitcase aren’t completely covered when you pour your paint. I used an aqua color because I wanted this to be my main color. You can use any kind of acrylic paint and can be purchased at any craft store ,as well as, Walmart. See the first picture above.
STEP 3: COMBINE PAINT MIXTURES INTO POURING CUP
Once the base coat of paint is dry, you can now prepare your “Pour Cup.” For this project, I used paint in the colors cobalt blue, light green, aqua, and white. You should have your individual cups of colors mixed with a pouring medium, and stirred well. You’ll now pour the individual paint mixtures into one cup that will be poured. Pour a little of each color, alternating with white after each one, into an empty cup until the cup is full.
STEP 4: COVER SURFACE WITH WHITE MIXTURE
Take one of your cup mixtures of just white and pour it out covering the entire surface of the suitcase. This is to help the color mixtures “flow” once it’s poured out. I just use my gloved hand to spread the white around.
STEP 5: POUR!
Now, take your cup that has all your colors poured in, and pour onto suitcase, moving around to help paint move. If you see areas that need paint, you might can scoop some up that has poured off and just drip it in the area. Sometimes, just using your gloved finger works great!
Once you’re satisfied with how it looks, leave to dry! It could take up to 2 days to dry completely.
STEP 6: SEAL WITH A TOPCOAT
Once the suitcase is completely dry, you’ll want to seal it for protection. You can brush on or spray polycrylic. I chose to spray because it was easier.
STEP 7: REMOVE TAPE
Be careful pulling off the tape so that you won’t pull paint off with it! I used an exacto type knife to “cut” along tape line, making it easier to pull off. If you do happen to pull a little paint off, just take a little of your base coat paint and touch up!
Thank you for reading! I hope it inspired you to try “Paint Pouring!” It really is fun! I’d love to know what you think and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
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