Join the circus– C.1940’s upcycled cardboard luggage–part 2 of 3

This is where we left the last post – click pic to return to the previous post.

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This post looks at the completion of the outer shell

I filled in the lettering with white enamel and a SZ000 paint brush. At this stage I wasn’t too concerned about the edges, they just had to be roughly correct and filling any gaps.

I left the case for 24 hours of drying time. Then it was ready for the black paint to finish the lettering. Again a SZ000 paint brush, + a steady hand and a lot of patience for this bit.

This is where I needed to concentrate and be precise with each brush stroke. My favorite part of the process.

While that dried, I started on the corner clowns by chalking the transfer, application was in the same way I did the main picture…….

Another 24 hours drying time…………………………………..

I then applied the white enamel paint to fill in the ‘islands’ of the clown transfer. While they were drying, I took the opportunity to paint the hardware in red.

I could only do a little bit at a time being very careful about how much paint I used and what angle I left it on to dry. Enamel paint takes a ages to dry, and likes to run.

Home straight!!!!!!!! This is the sprint to the finish……….

The following pictures are of the finishing process, extra layers of paint and line work etc.

One final decision was to add some brass hasp and gate fittings to the sides. I had to do this for security factor as I intend to use this as my short haul traveling case and I don’t have the keys to the original locks.

To make sure the brass fittings didn’t look out of place;  I painted a gold chain style rope to visually hang the middle image anchoring it to the fittings on the sides.

I have since wrapped the gold painted chain around the sides to met the hasp and gate fitments – this picture was taken part way through the process.

All that’s left is a quick wipe down with detergent and a soft cloth to remove any left over chalk dust and then a coat of polyurethane to seal the piece and protect the pictures.

I do love that it looks battered and old. I hope some of this ‘age’ remains after the polyurethane process.………

Next post will be on replacing the interior of the case.