My daughter who is 12 is a budding artist and recently interested in pinstriping after seeing some videos. I took her to the panel jam at autorama, and she came home and made her own brush and got started right away with art supplies she already had. What do you guys recommend for a first brush or two? Anything else she needs? I keep hearing "one-shot" for the paint to use, and I heard some people suggest "blick" for online shopping. What else will she need initially to get started?
I like a Mack 00 brush for beginners. One shot paint and some mineral spirits for thinning and clean up. Papr Dixie Cups for mixing are cheap and work good. A Stabilo pencil will help mark it up before painting. Lots of good stuff on Youtube and Alan Johnson's book for beginners is usually at Barnes Noble bookstores. Parent's encouragement is a big thing too.
Visit www.xcaliberart.com there's a lot of stuff for "newbie's", books, dvds, pinstriping kit, brushes, etc.
For my wife I bought her a 00 Mack brush, three cans of one shot, and some reducer. I had a tackle box that I wasnt using and used that to start with. Then Cut out a piece of plexie glass and she had at it. The glass cleans up after use and you can just mess around with that untill your ready to go to a junk fender. She said going from some no name brush to the Mack was like day and night, and that it was ALOT easier after useing the Mack 00.
On top of all the good stuff listed above I also carry a small vial of mystery oil (some use other stuff) to dip the brush in and lay it flat on tin foil for storage.
Oh yea forgot about that, i was told any oil will work, marvel, engine oil, cooking oil, and coat the brush to store it and wrap it up in a paper towel. im not a striper, my wife is, im just going off of memory here.
and she uses shot glasses to put paint and thinner and what not in, then cleans em up and keeps them in the box. that way all you have to do is grab ur tackel box, or tool box and lay down some lines because all of ur stuff is in the box.
All great info here. And about brush storage, yes motor oil will work. I've used it for years. Taking the hamb to the streets
Old magazines work good for palleting the brush. Run out of room, tear off the page. Clean the brush good with mineral spirits or paint thinner, wash it good with soap and water, and use Vasoline to keep the hair from drying out. Rub it on the bristles and form a nice sword shape for storage. When it's time to stripe again, let it sit in mineral spirits or paint thinner for a minute and it "melts" out, ready for paint.
Many thanks! Here is her first try. Pretty darn good for a home made brush with (I think?) watercolor, on a black CANVAS! No stencils no nothing. She drew up the design on the way home from the Detroit panel-jam then painted it all this week after school here n there. An early birthday present for my shop! I just ordered a couple brushes, reducer, and one-shot, and had the above referenced website send her a catalog of their pinstriping stuff. Thanks again gang. I love this place...
Go to your local grocery store and pick up those free booklets that you see all the time . I have used them before . Also when you get new telephone books , hit your neighbors up for their old ones to use to load your brush up with ! I also bought theses small plastic cups at my real Pharmacy . They use them for measuring out stuff like cough syrup and things like that . They are like the ones they use in the hospital that they give you your pills in to take . They are great small mixing cups . I got like 100 for $8 or so . I also got a thick piece of glass with the wire in it so if I drop it , it won't shatter all over the place . Then I put a picture of some pinstripe work under the glass and use that to practice my lines with . Then when I am done or when you make a mistake you just wipe off with mineral spirits and try again . I also used duct tape to cover the edges of the glass so I wouldn't get cut . Works great ! Retro Jim
Sweet! Put a 00 Mack and some 1 Shot in her hands, she will be well on her way. Tell her to stripe every day. Looking forward to seeing her work progress.
just by going to a 00 Mack her lines will get alot better, when my wife just switched to that brush it looked like an entire different person laid the lines down.
Mack 00 or a Kafka brush are good for beginners, kafka will open all sorts of worlds/ some 1shot paint, some mineral spirits. i use neatsfoot oil to store my brushes with, you can use other oils, but NON detergent oils are the key, detergent will eat the glue and your hairs will fall off. practice on glass, when it dries scape it off and start over if she wants to learn well, there youtube videos all over the place. look up the 10k lines method and get her learning them.
If you have someone starting out, invest in the proper brush and paint as suggested above. That way they will not develop bad habits that the wrong tools will cause.
Get her an Xcaliber, and a Mack 000 series 10. I prefer the mack, but the Xcaliber might be better for her small hands. Marvel Mystery Oil sounds cool, but contains Benzene. Mineral Oil, or Baby Oil is much safer. I use Neatsfoot Oil. Earlmich.com or DickBlick.com will ship whatever you want. Be careful shopping for paint online, some places sell 4oz cans for slightly less than 8oz cans. To me, 8oz is a better value than 4. Don't try and use Rustoleum, it tacks up too quick. Avoid the 1-Shot Pearls, Metalics, and Florescents when starting out. Get a quart of Odourless Mineral Spirits. Doesn't stink nearly as bad as the cheap stuff. Lots of info in our Yahoo group archives and database. http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/pinstriperspage/ Make sure to bring her to Billetproof and/or Sins of Steel. We have a panel jam at each, she is more than welcome.
Try your local Artist Shop - ours has brushes, paint and books. Mack 0, can of white & black, a paper plate, and a piece of temper glass or mirror. I was told to practice on glass or mirror, because if you can pull some decent lines on a mirror you can stripe anything. Besides it's easy the clean off with a razor, and start over. Start simple lines and go from there. Store in motor oil - nondetergent - they are putting in some weird stuff in oils today that can hurt the brush. Also DON'T work the brush with your fingers like some guys do - chemicals will soak thru your skin - not good - good luck and have fun.
I don't know about the rest of you guys but I feel when she gets the right tools she is going to pass us!
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