whats the old school brush painting called and who still does it?

since the early 70's everyone now uses vinyl stickers and wraps or they have airbrush work done.
no way i'm doing vinyl wrap and airbrushing while cool (and may have to go that route) you really cant get sharp lines and spay painting is flippen hellaspensive
so anyways back in the day they brushed logos and custom murals on and damn they great. so my question is what is that form called, does anyone still do it and do it great, and is it reasonably priced compared to spray painting.
also has anyone had it done to there rods?

 

It has always been called 'sign-writing' here in Oz, I was going to take it up as an apprenticeship until the guy that was going to give me the job told me to forget it as vinyl stickers is taking over and there will be no work for someone with a brush.
They did it all, from advertising on buildings to work on cars everything!

Doc.

 

Sign painters used to do it, vinyl graphics have all but wiped those guys out. However there's still some Pinstripers that can handle the task and do a damn fine job, ask around, I'd bet a local guy would be all over it... As far as price goe's it's definatley a "you get what you pay for" situation.

 

It's called "Art"! (As opposed to cookie cutter sticker application)

 

x2

 

My dad Has been and pinstriper and sign painter my whole life(not for a living just on stuff he wants to do) i Think i hot rod can be totally killed no matter how cool it is by appling vinly lettering. Theres something about seeing the brush strokes in the letters and numbers thats just awsome.
This is the door of my 48' chevy that my dad did. ALL done by hand!

 

The lettering and logos are called "sign painting". The airbrush work is called exactly that, or "airbrushing" or "mural painting". Saw many custom vans with murals in the '70s...most were awesome. Definitely a dying art. Ask whoever you get to do the work to see some of their previous stuff.

 

They're called sign painters! Gary

I should have added, the very same folks that painted signs for the local grocery, gas stations, plumbers, lawyers or the for sale signs in the windows of shoe stores (backwards, even) did the lettering and graphics for all the vintage race cars, too. Any and all of it included striping and outlining the lettering to make them more visible. IMHO, the Indy / oval track cars had the best painters and overall designs. They are still out there, too. Lots can be found with the vintage race car crowds.

 

This is the recently restored "Bo-weevil" dragster. Dad painted and lettered all by hand.Just like the good ol' days

 

There's still a few of us old timers around slinging brushes. There ain't no vinyl on this car!

 

FANTASTIC! Love that car!

 

It came out looking amazing. Preston Davis who owns and drove the car did an amazing job on the restoration.

 

my wagone was done by myself and a good friend sammy bland this was the first car that we'd ever layed a brush on ever and im more than pleased of the outcome!be brave and pick up a brush and practice even if its on your own car or test panels? i wanna learn more but just dont have very much free time right now to practice?

 

I have been hand painting signs since the mid 70's. My first paying job was in early '78 and I have been in the sign business ever since. I do own an old plotter and for the bulk of the work, that's what I use, however I still get the occasional call to hand-letter a racecar, or a store-front, or whatever... but very infrequently. Up until a few years ago, I lettered the draw-board at the Women's Tennis Tournament in North Florida, but they cancelled that in '09. ( had been doing it since the 80's) At the time, it was the last hand painted signs done at any professional event in the U.S. according to tourney officials.

To answer your questions, it's called sign painting, or hand-lettering, and as far as price, I guess that depends on where you're located, and if there's anyone in your area. I had a guy to fly me out to Nevada to letter a car a few years ago, and I've traveled up to North Jersey a couple of times to do some work, but that can get expensive. Surely there's someone in your area that's capable. Try signcraft.com and see if there's anyone on there that can point you towards someone in your area. That's a site that's dedicated to the craftsmen and women of the sign game.

Best of luck!
Joe

 

i just want to say i love this truck i think your dad hit it right on the head not only with the image of toad but the lettering is freakin awsum

 

Sometimes I just hate Technology!! Old-school is just plain COOL!! Pete

 

As mentioned already, what is now called sign-making used to be known as sign-painting or sign-writing. It (sign-painting) is a skill. In its better forms it is also an art. And at its best there should also be some magic in the mix.

This video, on a larger scale, will explain it better than I can. You might find it loads up faster if you click off the HD setting.

http://vimeo.com/10562000

 

Thanks man. Ive put almost 50,000 miles on this truck and i hope to put 250,000 more.

 

Sign Painting. Dying art. My buddy Derrick does it. Super bad-ass.

 

Don't know where in Wisconsin you are but there are a ton of great sign artists in the Greater Chicago area that could handle anything you might need in the way of artwork.Check out the Chicago Brushmasters site for contact info. The work isn't cheap but you won't find any better quality anywhere.Most of the guys have been at it for at least 30 years and some a LOT more.

 

thanks a lot for the info! its going to be awhile before i get to the point of paint so i will have a lot of time to search which from the looks of it thats a good thing as people are hard to come by that can do it
like heres the doors of an early 50's ih thats near me

 

Check this guys stuff out. I think he has the best lettering style I have ever seen. I fucking love it.

http://ornamentalconifer.blogspot.com.au/

 

Through the 90's all the local roundtrack cars were hand lettered. You could tell who lettered each car by the style. One of the best around the Birmingham area was Bob Haisten(spelling?). He painted all the signs at Talladega, the 4 ft tall letters on the walls and then came home and lettered racecars at night. He was one of a kind.

 

what he said!

 

Line art! Vinyl lettering has been around awhile, look at the Kopper Kart. It has just gotten easier to make more complex designs. I'd actually fantasized about getting a truck and putting a sign on it to advertise myself as a pinstriper (still learning) and then I realized how shitty a striper I'd look like if I have VINYL on the side instead of paint!


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Its "signwritting" down here.
My good friend has been making a living from this for most of his life. He also uses an airbrush, and is a great pinstriper.
I have always had all my studio signs done by him, and even the oldest ones are still holding up well to this day. Wouldnt get that with stickers.

Dont say "vinyl stickers" to him, you will upset him. Ha ha.

 

if you need a guy to paint i use shepard design in kenosha. he has done all my cars and bikes. he can also do gold and silver leaf. how good is he? my car has been on the cover of hot rod featured in too many to count and all my harleys have made it on their official calendar. he did a pinup girl on my 31 chrysler and its on the cover of this weeks old car weekly. last week i had him letter the door in my shop and like always it turned out perfect. he is very talented and reasonable give him a call. his shop number is 1-262-657-8005 his name is john.

 

Here's a picture of a friend of mine lettering my 55 Chevy. I'd call him an artist but he calls himself a sign painter. He's been doing this for a living since the seventies.

 

we are sign painters! and we are all close even though we live many miles from one another. its a GOD given talent.

 

racer-x you wouldnt happen to have some pictures of said work to post on here would you? because if his work is that great which i dont doubt id really consider him when the time comes