Art & Inspiration Pinstriping first attempts -- extreme newby

It was raining cats and dogs, and I was bored sitting around the house, so I decided to try pinstriping for the first time ever. For a while, I've had a can of bright red One Shot and a couple of different Mack brushes that I bought from a guy who had never used them, and I finally used them.

I looked around for some junk to practice on and found a piece of masonite that I'd used as a template for a car's side window. I covered the whole thing with a bunch of lines, trying to learn how to get consistent line widths and making different types of curves. It looked really bad at first, but this face turned out kind of cool. Then I painted on the sides of some empty soda cans. Then I painted a lame design on the side of plastic bucket. Then I painted some tiger stripes on a couple of small Christmas tree balls (my wife actually liked 'em).

It's pretty fun, but I can see where it would take years of practice to get good at it. What seemed hard was figuring out how to get the paint consistency just right and loading up the brush with not too much paint. Figured you guys might have a good laugh at my crappy first tries at it.

I have three brushes. The one I used is I think a Mack series 10 #0 (blue thread). I also have a Mack Series 20 #00 (green thread), and a Mack 101-00 that has a beige handle and brass ferule. They all look kind of the same to me at first glance. Could somebody explain what's different about them, and why one would be better to use than another? Are they for different purposes? Thanks.

Okay, here's my lousy first attempts:

 

I am no expert, but for your first time it looks good to me. I know there are guys on the board that can give you tips but I am not one of them, I have never tried it. I have to pay someone to stripe for me and it looks like you are well on your way. Congrats

 

for a first attempt they look pretty damn good. i havent messed with my brushes for a while, yours look better than what i was doing. keep up the good work, and just keep working at it

 

Try pulling a long line with the least pressure that you can. Make the line as thin as you can make it and as long as you can make it. Only add pressure as you need it to maintain the thickness of the line. If you are not getting smooth consistent lines, practice paletting the brush to load it evenly. That is pulling it through the paint flat one way then the other side till the brush is loaded and then get up on the tip and try those fine, long, lines. Hope this makes sense to you. Forget the curves until you get a long straight and consistent line.

 

That masonite piece is not bad! but that blue bin is horrible! LOL! As far as the brushes, don't worry about the series. The numbers indicate the size of line. From #000 (smallest) to #6 (largest). Stay with the #00. It will do for almost anything.

 

Series 20 is made from Brown Squirrel hair.
Series 10 is made from Siberian Grey Squirrel.

Different species, the hairs feel different to most people.
Series 10 is more forgiving, in my experience.
Both will work for straight lines, or intricate designs.

I use a 000 series 10 for the majority of my stuff.

Not familiar with the 101, but their brass ferrule brushes
are usually better suited for straight lines.

 

Cool work for your first time .Better than I could ever do

 

Make sure you are holding the brush right side up,
sounds obvious, but it makes a difference.

 

Hey i give you credit.. I couldnt' do that good even if the brush was made of unicorn hair. thumbs up.

 

Good try for your first shot at it!

check out the pinhead lounge, at pinheadlounge.com to get some inspiration. One pointer (not that i'm an expert by any means) i could give you is to 'finish' a line, meaning that a line just doesn't stop in mid air. they should end either back on itself, or flow into another line somewhere. Don't take me as being critical, in a negative way! It took me a long time to figure it out (and i'm still learning).

The numbers of brushes are split into the 10 and 20 series and specifies the hair quality/type if i recall. that 101 you've got is a Mach-one i think(?).... i like the series 10 and i usually use a 000, and a 00 often. Never used the mach-one! I like the thinner lines i can make with the 000 mack.

mixing your paint can be tricky, you're right! Depends on the weather, the material you're striping, all kinds of stuff. I usually mix it with just a little mineral spirits on a magazine, aka palleting the brush, to get my consistency. It's usually pretty good from the can but i find it needs thinned to flow better. Plastic is hard to stripe, i've found, because of the static buildup. i've striped toilet seats and coolers and every time the static starts pulling the paint off my brush when i'm a couple inches away from the surface. it's bizarre! Makes little swirly paint spray everywhere. Make sure you clean your brush well when you're done, with the spirits. Dab it dry, and put some oil on it and the ferrule. Don't use a vegetable oil or any oil of that nature as it can turn rancid. I use neatsfoot but there are specific oils for your brush you can buy. Sorry if this is info you already knew. Keep it up!
-ace

 

Try wiping your surface with a drier sheet (Bounce) to get rid of the static electricity that is pulling the paint from your brush on plastic. It has worked for me in the past.

 

Thanks everybody for all the great tips. Yeah, I have to agree that the "blue bin looks horrible!" I got a good laugh when I read that! I'm still laughing!

Yeah, I need to practice a bunch. I'm holding the brush right side up, but the hard part is keeping the right amount of pressure so it doesn't slop on a big puddle of paint. Sounds like I should use a 00 brush instead to get the lines a little narrower and don't push down as far. I like how the brush feels in my hand. It looks like it would be kind of goofy to hold, but actually it's nice how it's easy to roll it in your fingertips when you need to. I like how the brush sort of moves along nice and smooth like it's on railroad tracks once you start moving. It's pretty fun.

I'll practice some straight lines and try to get the lines narrower and more consistent. It's more fun making the curvy lines though. I'll keep all of your advice in mind next time I try it. Thanks!

 

elmitcheristo- i did just that and it seems to work OK. though my first few attempts i wiped too much and made it even worse

When you have the brush in your hand don't be afraid to "get into your work" and put your other hand under your brush hand to use as a stabilizer. Some guys use talc on the outside of their pinky fingers and down toward the wrist so your hand glides across the work. Don't load your brush up too much either. That can make a blob, or if it's too thin. I usually load the brush and then pull a short little line on my pallet to get any heavy paint off the top. Just like anything, it just takes practice! Stripe anything that ain't moving!

 

First time ever?? Damn! Keep it up!
Go get a picture frame with real glass in it and practice on that. that way you can blade your practice off and start over on the same panel.

 

way better than i could do, I hear practicing on glass works well

 

Do a little search for pinstriping.

About 6 months back there was a lot of good stuff in a longish thread and several books were recommended.

Good stuff on your practice board.
Go buy some white One-Shot.

A car door window makes a nice practice pallet.

As does a project car.
Stripe all over it, then sand and paint and by then you'll be accomplished enough to lay some lines on your own car.

 

http://psychoarts.com/?page_id=76

 

That Yaphet Kotto portrait is pretty cool.

 

Fantastic first try!!! Keep practicin' and you'll be slingin' stripes with the best of 'em!

 

You're killing me Muttley!!!

 

Rusty,
Looks like you got the hang of it real fast.The bucket looks a little crazy though.That masonite piece looks great for just starting out.

 

better job than this shaker could do

 

Hey I did the same thing today on a rainy Monday.

I had the same issues as you... but my first attempts were nothing like yours. I extra suck!.

That face is cool looking.

 

If don't get started yoiu'll never get ahead. Learning Pinstriping you will get sick, confused, you will be frustrated and say to hell with it...but if you want o be striper for yourself or for money, you will always be practicing. I've been at it over 30 yrs and every car I do is practice and I get paid well to do that. But do not, I say do not quit your day job until you are planning jobs at least two months out.

Mikey
www.MikeysPinstriping.com
"I Do Bad Things to Good Cars"

You know you're a Hot Rodder when you name your car "Sweet Thang" and when you call your wife "You sorry POS, do something Already."

"Mikey's Pinstriping & Carmedy Show" coming to car show near you...if you're in Texas.

 

Art Summers, master striper in the '50s, told me that he practiced for a long time putting long lines on broomsticks. Just FYI.

 

Shit bro... too bad your on the west coast. I'd let you practice all over my Bel Air. Looks like you might have an undiscovered talent that could pay for some beers.

 

I've heard about practicing on broom sticks, and mirrors.

 

Mirrors?! Thats an easy way to go crosseyed!!
And yes, you will throw brushes.
Anthony White had said that he tries for everyone of his pieces, to be the best one he ever did.
Words to live by!!

 

Never tried it before but your's sure looks good to me.

 

the blue bin doesnt look bad to me at all for a first attempt. Much better than what mine would look like.