Hot Rods First hand at pinstriping

Like I said a true art form! Amazing work thanks for sharing

 

Let's see...
I think at the rate I'm going, by the time I might finish my roadster, you'll be a highly sought-after pinstriping artist.
Could you maybe promise to stop by in about 12 years? If you're not too famous?

 

Good start man... I agree get some glass or something, start just pulling lines over and over... I am self taught myself here... On the end of a line, just pull the brush straight up. To do perfect dots, use the wood end of the brush, run it around in your paint that you have on your pallet, then just tap it to the piece you are striping. Then go up 1/4" and tap again without doing more paint, you can get progressively smaller dots by doing this method. Don't be afraid to wipe it off if you don't like it... mineral spirits is your friend here. A little boiled linseed oil in your reducer also helps flow of the paint. Getting the pallet feel and the right amount of drag is everything.

 

12 years is about how much practice I'll need!

 

Back at you!
John

 

It's a great way to do something creative and who knows where it will go. I started late in life and it's opened a lot of doors and meet new friends that I would never have known. The picture on my page was done about a year or so in to it.

 

@Oldstrk
Yours is one of the nicer looking winged flying eyeballs I've seen.

 

When I was a teenager and was practicing pinstriping I would stripe the fridge in our kitchen. It had a smooth white baked on finish. I would practice for an hour, then wipe it all off with mineral spirits.

 

I tried to teach myself how to pinstripe a few years ago. I got good using this template instead of trying to stripe right away. I got pretty good pulling lines, but had no imagination.

 

Your work is looking great !
Don't be afraid to try something new, its OKAY to think outside of the " BOX "

 

Some practice days are more satisfying than others as I am fighting Parkinson's disease as well as my age. No excuses here, just having a heck of a time doing scroll work I am happy with. I am stubborn and persistent to a fault so I will overcome these minor setbacks. Bought several size scroll brushes and the # 3 brush seems a bit more to my liking. No examples I can share but sure glad I can erase and correct my mistakes. Practice practice

 

You, sir, are producing some nice work.

 

Good work,
I was absolutely convinced with my latent art skills I would step up to the plate and bang out some fine pin striping. Ahh, not so much!

 

8 hours, looks good. I'm not a striper.

Penetrol, oil paint conditioner.

As stated grab a piece of glass, do it up, take a pic, wipe it off.

Work on the curve / sweep, being able to lay the same arc in both directions. I drew a lot in the past and had a teacher that would have us draw matching sweeps every day. Turn it in at the beginning of class.

Speed, I lay a straighter line cutting in a ceiling when I move fast vs slow. Learned from some pro painters. Understand it's not the same as striping. Confidence, commit to laying the line down is a consideration.

 

This is just the inspiration I need to try something I’ve always wanted to do.

 

Really nice work, sometime we never know what abilities may be hiding. I wish we were closer, I've got something you could practice on.

 

Looks like your doing great! I always wanted to try it since being a bodyman I thought it would add to my business. I didn't and now I shake like a dog shitting peach seeds.

 

I thought about ordering some supplies and try to practice some stripping myself this winter. I am just about your age and the winters are long. You may have given me the inspiration to give it a try next winter. If I thought I could be half as good as you after 8 hours of practice it would be a no brainer, but I don't see me doing that good. Stick with it!

 

@dserge - jump into it! It doesn’t take much to get started and you might find you really like it. I started a few years ago for something to do in the winter. I’m finding I may fit into what @Gasser_Dave said about himself…. I can pull the lines, but seem to be limited by imagination.

Seriously, give it a shot.

John

 

Go for it. In spite of the frustration you might feel at times you might find rewarding when you hit that great line.

 

Why wait for next winter? Long winter here in Wisconsin as well but none of us are promised tomorrow. Inexpensive venture and although I'll never be good at this, I find it relaxing...at least when I'm not frustrated. Then I just clean the brushes and hit the garage or chase my lovely bride around the house. LOL

 

Imagination and inspiration can come from different sources. I'm a raw rookie at this and have learned a lot by reading posts by others here as well as online. Hit some keys on your computer and you will find great examples of highly skilled artists laying lines. I can't achieve that kind of pinstriping but sometimes I take a sketch pad and merely draw different combinations of what I see online or what comes to mind. Combine several designs and make it my own. I keep it simple, layout the design on a glass practice board and vainly attempt to lay paint. Many, many more hours of practice needed.

 

Hell ya, you're doing great! Keep at it!

 

Nice work, I have wanted to learn, just haven't tried yet....

 

I am not a patient person, I am afraid I will get frustrated. Of course noting ventured nothing gained.

 

I'm impressed. Like others on this thread I bought some One Shot and some brushes and tried pulling some lines. Goal was to be able to stripe my Mysterion clone. I quickly realized I needed hundreds of hours of practice to do the car justice so I hired legendary Bob Coslett to stripe my car. He did a magical job. I do most everything on a car myself including painting but striping is way out of my wheel house.

 

For those that are thinking of trying to pinstripe - here are some items to start with…. from a mediocre pinstriper (me).

1) You need to get a proper brush or two. The old-school sword brushes are what many people use, but are hard to control in curves (takes a lot of practice). The newer brushes from Steve Kafka don’t have that shortcoming, but aren’t the old-school way to do it either.

2) You need some paint. The go-to paint is 1-Shot, though there are other pinstriping and sign painting paints. Some use Rustoleum. I’ve been using 1-Shot.

3) You need a way to thin the paint. You can use many things, including mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, etc. I find I prefer the reducers from 1-shot, but they are more expensive than hardware-store items.

4) You need something to practice on. Glass is ‘slippery’ to paint on, but cleans up nicely. There are plastic practice boards from folks like Steve Kafka.

5) Watch some videos on YouTube to get some pointers. Steve Kafka, Hot Rod Jen, Villa Pinstriping to name a few.

I attached a photo of some items and prices from Dick Blick. They are just for information.

Have at it and post back what you paint!

John

 

Thanks Almostdone, I was hoping someone would post something like this.

 

Can't really hurt striping my paint box. Looks good from 15 feet!
Still working on experimenting with different brushes. More I do this the more I appreciate those gifted amongst us.

 

I tried pin striping when I was about 20. striped the heck out of an old hood. if pinstriping only involved straight lines I think I would have been good, but I could not come up with a good design if my life depended on it. I even tried it with just a pencil. I'm pretty artsy craftsy, but could not do this well at all.

if anyone needs a straight line on their car, give me a call.