Hot Rods First hand at pinstriping

Maybe my better days are behind me but here I am at age 74 and I am trying my hand at pinstriping. Hell, why not, it's cold as hell here and just had foot surgery so I'm some what house bound.
Tell you what I admit I need about another 1000 hours of practice before I might be somewhat satisfied but I want to do the pinstriping on the AV8 myself. Posting some pictures of my first attempts at this before I lay paint on the car. Have about 8 hours practice under my belt so be gracious in comments ..LoL
Can tell you right off I have tremendous respect for the artistry and skill required to do this kind of work. It's damn difficult to master the skills required to sell yourself as a pin striper.

 

I think ya doing good. !!!

Hell, I can’t make a straight Line with a ruler.

 

crap i WISHED I could do that good!!!

 

You're off to a good start. Eventually, the amount of imagination you have will come in to play. Several years ago at Salina, I asked a striper for some advice. He said stuff from the 50's was easy because it was comprised of the same strokes in different sizes and either facing or opposite of each other as you have done. I bought paint and a few brushes and have done little since then. I did some work on the dash of my 32 which was a terrible place to start. I think you will be very pleased with what you are doing.

 

Looks pretty darn good to me !!

 

That's after only about 8 hours practice? Dang... You're already puttin' some flair into it.
"Flair"... as in "shazaz".

 

you already have a sheet of clear acrylic there and a lamp........
make yourself an a4 light box
make the light box so an a4 sheet of paper sits snugly in the frame
so you can simply drop the sheet in and it will not move about
buy a box of a4 paper
print out a pin striped design you like.
place that in frame put a blank sheet on top - diffuse light with more paper if necessary
place frame atop of trash can with lamp in bottom
angle frame for comfort
snap 'soft pencils in half to' same length of brush, i.e if using a 000 mack make the pencils the same length .
get through the first ream of paper tracing with pencil
buy a sharpie, get through the next ream using that.
alter same design BUT with start and stop dots get through another ream.
build a collection of designs
fold in half and pierce through paper at start and stop points with dart
transfer pin holes to sheets of paper - touch through with sharpie
get through the rest of the paper without the light box

 

Your off to a good start!! Keep at it.

 

The last thumbnail looks really good… keep practicing.

 

Social Security supplement, your work looks good you can practice on your daily driver, bikes, lawn furniture before striping you hotrod. Next thing you know you will be getting calls for it....

 

grate job your on your way

 

I like it. You know what else I like about it? There is a little bit of asymmetry in the execution of an otherwise symmetrical design. That speaks to me. Is shows it was done by hand, not a decal or a projection. Keep it up. Like playing the piano, cutting a good light, or putting, practice practice practice and get good muscle memory and hand / eye coordination.

 

mmm...interesting Thanks for the feedback

 

Hell of a lot better than my first and LAST attempt at doing it!

 

I was gonna say...
It's great to pay an accomplished professional pinstriper to lay some perfect lines. But I think maybe I'd rather have slightly imperfect pinstriping I did myself.
Don't stop. Keep at it.

 

Paid a "professional" to stripe my 34 and the more I looked at it the less I liked it. Guess your kind of stuck with the end product one way or the other. Actually considering having it removed but really concerned with damages to the clear coat expensive paint under it.

 

Had a striper do work on the dash of my AV8 at the TROG race in Wildwood this October. Pleased with the results but in the end think it kindled my inspiration to try it myself

 

I agree, looks great, no. 4 definitely shows your efforts starting to bear fruit. I watched an interview with von dutch Friday at work, and he gave some really excellent tips. Lemme see if I can find it to share. You may enjoy it. He talks about everything from paint mixing, paint behavior at different temps, to brush selection. Good luck and keep at it!

Edit: Yup, here it is. Long interview, but I know he talks pin striping and does some painting in here at some point:

 

Several years ago, I bought a pinstripe "kit" with video, and I bought 3 cans of one shot paint, black, red, and white at the Portland Swap meet from a vendor.
I had plans to give it a go, put it in my old fridge in the shop, with the rest of my paints..still there, untouched.
Good on you, for giving it a try..who knows you may inspire me.

 

Sounds like you’re having fun - as it should be.

I’ve been ‘practicing’ pinstriping on and off for 2-3 years now. I’m a mediocre pinstriper, but I get a little better as time goes on. Stick with it and your lines will be of a more consistent width and the ends and joins will improve. There are lots of helpful resources on YouTube. I’ve found that a flat practice panel is OK, but I learn more pulling lines on real things like a drill press, welding helmet, tool box, etc. You can always wipe it off if you don’t like it.

Check out some of Steve Kafka’s stuff, Hot Rod Jen, and Villa Pinstriping to name a few.

Keep us posted as you move along.

John

 

Thanks for all the positive feedback from everyone. I encourage us all to step out of our comfort zone on occasion.
You Tube is my friend lately. Striping on flat surfaces is one heck a lot easier than doing it on curved surfaces I've found. Daaa ? My garage is full of "practice" media. Wife said hands off her things!

 

Another one of my early attempts at this art on an old welding helmet.

 

Looking good. You're on your way to professional.

 

Not bad for so little time behind a brush. Nothing to it but practice. I started on a piece of glass as it is the hardest surface to work. Once you get to where you can pull lines on glass, you can pull on anything. Here's some pics of my work for inspiration and design ideas.

 

The hardest thing is what you have already done..Start. Another important item is to thin or reduce the paint properly so it flows, try different thinners, and a few drops of Penatrol or linseed oil will help paint flow. better. Like anything the more you practice the better you will feel about your efforts. Save your early work. Your stuff looks good. Good luck.

 

I had the skill but never the imagination, so you are doing good.

 

Imagine how good you’ll be if you have the other foot done!

 

Did you weld for a living at some time? Your eye-hand coordination is pretty good. Looks like you just need to work on muscle memory.

 

Thank you