Stickerbombing my Boblbee backpack!

Recently, while having a clearout, I was forced to decide if I was finally going to throw out my aging Boblbee backpack.

This was a big decision as it’s one of my most prized possessions. I’ve used it since 2007 and it’s by far the best backpack I’ve ever owned. I originally bought it in Takasaki, Japan, after a sudden rainstorm ruined a sketchbook I had in my regular backpack, and I decided I’d try to find a waterproof bag. Since then, it has been with me to multiple countries and events, including the Ghibli Museum, various comic-cons, and countless commutes to and from work via bike. It’s just sooo comfortable to wear and holds a surprisingly large amount of stuff.

These things were quite popular in the early 2000s with the skating scene, as their hard plastic shell makes them pretty much indestructible… But 11 years can wear away anything and it was suffering from a bunch of problems:

The bolts were corroding, there were some rips and tears in the fabric, the phone case was too small for a smartphone, the bungee cord was wearing out, the front fastener piece was wearing and would soon snap, and one of the triaxials (the one on the right) had already broken off. The biggest problem was that the white plastic shell was yellowing, and the only way to fix this was by respraying it or otherwise covering it up.

I considered throwing it away, but I hate to waste something which could just as easily be fixed up, especially when I found out Point65 were selling replacement parts. I decided I’d try to repair it instead, along with covering up the fading plastic with a stickerbomb project. This is a pretty commonly done thing with guitars and skateboards, so it seemed worth trying.

If you want to do this, you’ll need an object, some stickers and something to seal it. It’s not particularly difficult to do. It’s basically a form of decoupage.

For stickers, you can either collect them over a long period of time, or buy them online. If you search “stickerbomb” on eBay or most other places, you’ll find people selling packs of 200 or so stickers for a very low price, perhaps £2-3.

This is also a great use for the stickers you can get at the dealer’s room at comic and anime events, of which I had a bunch lying around

Best to get too many, because when they arrive, you’ll have to pick through them, as some of them might have iconography you dislike or be brand logos for brands you wouldn’t use (this only matters if you really care about being self-expressive or you’re just trying to cover something).

In addition to that, I recommend ordering a couple of sticker packs for things you really like. These will be a bit more expensive but you save these for the front/top of the item you’re doing.

Once you’ve got all your stickers and you’ve divided them up, you just have to clean your surface and start sticking! You might want to sand down your surface to give a bit of “tooth” for them to adhere to; it depends how smooth it is.

In my example, I started with the edges and worked my way inward, generally going top-to-bottom. This mattered because my bag is generally going to be seen the “right way up”; some objects won’t be like this.

This was how it looked once I had covered every part of the surface. It required a bit of cutting and darting get the stickers to adhere to the curved surfaces at the bottom, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be neat. A little superglue can help here to stick down any stubborn areas that won’t quite adhere to the curves.

Once you’re done, it’s time to varnish. I used this stuff:

… which is just a craft vanish; you can use pretty much any. However, I would recommend a brush-on varnish instead of a spray varnish as they’re generally “thicker” and leave a good barrier that will both protect the stickers and smooth out any rough edges.

The other good thing about using gloss is that if you got your stickers from different places, they’re likely going to have different finishes, which can be both good and bad. In my case, some of mine were very matte and some were really glossy, and it looked kinda bad; the gloss evens out the finish across the surface.

It took 6 coats, leaving an hour in-between each one, before I was happy with the finish. Then I reassembled the bag, along with new, shiny bolts and the new triaxials and bungee I’d ordered from Point65 in Norway:

Also worth mentioning about keeping your favourite stickers until last; one of mine was this Miku one, which seemed best used on top:

Overall I’m pretty happy with it! I managed to fix all of the problems with it, and hopefully it’ll last me another 11 years.