How to hold a Pinstriping Brush ------ for fun and profit

Put this Mutha in the tech-o-matic....any other stripers wanna give out your trade secrets?

 

Here is the "hand over hand" method.
The left hand rests on a dry part of the panel,the right hand can move forwards and back over the design.

 

This method is used by John Hannukaine.
The left hand supports and steadys the right hand,only the 2 baby fingers touch the panel.
I find this awkward,but sometimes it is the best way.

 

And finally,an old sign painters trick.
The Mahl stick.

Mine is a homebuilt POS cobbled together from stuff I got at Home Depot for $5
It's long enough to just fit in my box,but doesn't take up much space.
You can buy real nice ones,in aluminum or even Carbon Fiber,if you look around.

Wrapping the ends in leather is a good idea,so you don't mark the panels.

 

One end of the Mahl stick touches the surface,the other end is supported by the left hand.
Right hand rest on the Mahl stick.
This allows you to work directly above a completely wet design,
without worrying about your fingers getting in the paint.
I save this for when I've painted myself into a corner.

 

Wow Unk!! Thanks for this! Now I see that it's ART, a black art maybe, not MAGIC that you guys practise.

(Still I wonder if there's some doin's at the crossroads at midnight to improve technique. )

Please keep on posting this. A keeper for sure. -Keith

 

I've purchased with good American dollars books on pin striping that were no where as informative as this post. In facted most of the literature I have only show cases the a small amount of the artist work and gives vague "how to's".

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.....

 

maybe one thing to add... how to trim a new brush?

 

Do you trim? I don't trim. Should I be t*******?

 

uhh... I thought you had to... ???

 

The old time sign painters around my neck of the woods use

a shotgun cleaning rod works good as a mahl stick!


They usually screw together in pieces and you can use a rubber tip on the end. HRP

 

Thanks Unkl Ian, good to see some how-to tech on here. My grandfather was sign painter that did a lot of lettering and gold leaf. I remember he used the mahl stick a lot, but I was little about 7-8 years old. Wish he was still aorund and could give me some tips on the lettering and sign painting. I may just have to buy a brush or two and some 1-shot and give this a try, looks like fun and what better way to frustrate myself for hours on end???

 

please unklian...tell us again the one about the old man who trims his brush....

 

Pleeeeeeeeze!

 

How do you load the brush and get the paint started. Great post and it gave me some info that I have needed.

 

Thanks for the great post BTTT

 

Awesome, thanks man...this helps

 

When most stripe, is it free hand? Is there something you use to mark the panel first?

 

i was wondering the same as hellfish....in the post that contained those fantastic large paintings , the guy was seen striping a piece that seemed to be already `chalked` in...is this personal preference?
monkey
www.monkey-inc.co.uk

 

Most times there is at least a center line drawn with water soluble grease pencil (stabillo pencil, in my case). One more thing that is CRITICAL to striping... taking care of the brush once you've finished painting. Dip the brush (once it has been cleaned out with mineral spirits) in ****** fluid, it acts as an oil to keep the hairs from drying and cracking. You can buy expensive brush oils, but ****** fluid is cheap and most of us got some layin around already. Or dish soap, I've heard that it is not too bad either.;

Ian, I'd like to see your take on t*******. And any other artists as well, the more info the better.
Maybe some of our letterers would like to chime in with tips?

RJB

 

This really needs to be in the Tech-o-Matic.....

 

I had a bad experience with ****** fluid I use 10-30 motor(not the sythetic though) oil or canola oil.....what would kats and kittens think about using diddo paper to tranfer designs.....I alway free hand but have wondered how well it would work.

 

Stabillo make the Magic Layout pencils we use,they also make a bunch of other pencils.
Just look for the magic word "Aquarellable".
I don't know what language that is,but it means "this **** washes off with water".
Get a White one,and a Blue one.That's it,all the other colors ****.
Any decent art supply,or any sign supply place will have them
A little over a buck each.

1-Shot Brush Cleaner and Conditioner is great stuff,lately I've been cleaning my brushes in Mineral Spirits,then work them back and forth in 1-Shot Cleaner,and that's it.
Neets Foot Oil works great,and a $5 bottle will last years.
Oil is used to stop the minute traces of paint still left in the brush from drying.If you want to get real involved,and clean the brushes perfectly,they can be stored dry,but it's just extra work.


To transfer designs,we use Sarel Transfer paper.
It's like the old Carbon Paper,but come in White and dark Gray.

As for t*******,yes,I trim all my brushes,some radically.But I do not recommend it to beginners until they develop some control and understand how a brush works,Or they are prepared to ruin $100 worth of brushes trying to learn the hard way.
I will have to get some new brushes,before I can do a brush t******* How To.

 

I just found a new addiction!! Very cool tech. 'cause I needed one more.

 

Being a beginner in anything ****s and this has got to be the worst. My biggest issue is symmetry. I have been trying to freehand and freestyle as well. I ****.

I can draw just about anything I want to and I am wicked with a lot of different medias in the "art" world, but pinstriping is an art inside an art. It's like knowing what you want but not having control of the tool in your hand to do it and watching it do whatever it wants to even though you don't like it. AArrgggg.

Should I be using one common design and just doing it over and over again? I am guessing I should be drawing my designs out first, but even drawing them with a stabillo is tough to do with any symmetry - and when you screw up you have all of these guide lines that you don't want to erase. I guess that just means your screwed and you should start all over right? Well I suppose it's better than having the flaws done in paint...

 

Some guys who have been doing it forever will just use a centerline,and eyeball the rest.
For the rest of us humans,start out with a grid of 1" squares.

I draw every line,both sides,using French curves.Then just paint over the lines.Yes it takes forever.
But as your skill develops,you don't need these guides as much.
You can do the left side freehand,and then quickly sketch in the right side,and paint that.

90+% of Pinstriping is just practice.

 

I wouldn't say you need to do a design over and over and over again but you might practice your strokes.

Do a series of straight lines vertically then do a series of straight lines horizontally. Keeping everything as even and consistent as you can.

Next do a series of lines with a curve to the right. Repeat the same to the left. Continue until you get the brush roll down and the line weight consistent or pretty close.

Now combine the curves and do s and reverse s shapes.

At this point you start to understand the movement.

If I am trying something new I like to lay out a grid with a stibillo pencil or a colored verithin pencil. The grid helps you to find your beginning and end points easier. If you have drawn a cool pattern dont be afraid to stripe on gl*** or plexi with the drawing underneath.

Right now my problem is pulling long lines so I try to find something that will peovide a good guide. I have gone through alot of masking tape recently trying to build a good thick guide edge to run my pinki and ringfinger along to help out with the straightness of my line but havn't got it to the point that I would do it on a vehicle yet. I have watched guys run lines around a car in about 90 seconds for a single line. Just amazing!

Anyway thats mostly my process as I have become better.

Cody

 

Stabilo pencils are the best thing I've found for doing layout work,but sometimes they seem a little hard to remove after the work is done.This is especially true on white or light colored surfaces.Washing them with mineral spirits usually won't work,but I've found a little trick that works nicely:After making sure the surface is dry,moisten a rag or paper towel with a little water and apply a small drop of machine polishing compound to the rag,work into the rag,and then LIGHTLY rub it across the marks and they will come off almost immediately.
Another trick I just learned last week from Letterfly(who learned it from Peter Gunn who learned it from....)is when you have a line run farther than you wanted it to and it's in the middle of a design.Take a pencil eraser(I like the big square kind)and carefully remove the portion of the line that needs removal.You can get right next to the line you went across and not disturb it.Then just wipe the eraser off on your jeans or whatever.If for some reason you do disturb the line,it's easy to touch up.
For final cleanup on brushes,I like to use an old toothbrush.Soak the brush in brush cleaner and lay it on a hard flat surface(I use my brush box or palette).Brush GENTLY from the heel of the brush to the tip and flip it over and do the other side a few strokes.Dip in cleaner again and taking a rag or paper towel,squeeze the brush gently from heel to tip slowly outward.DON'T squeeze the brush and pull it at the same time;this is what causes hairs to pull out.After cleaning,soak in brush oil and either lay flat(if it not subject to movement as if the tip is pushed against something,it will deform)or put in a special brush box.I use a brush box which has two coiled springs across the box to slip in the brush handles.It works well with stripers too,but they are best placed in so the wrapping is in the spring area.In the shop,I store brushes vertically in a special holder with the hair up.This allows the oil to wick down into the ferrule.This is very important with metal ferruled brushes as paint ac***ulates very readily in them.
Another thing regarding cleaning:I would stay away from using "Hotter"solvents such as lacquer thinner for cleaning brushes.It may do a better job initially but it also removes a lot of the natural oils in non-synthetic brushes and shortens their useful life considerably.
Just my twopence.
Ray

 

This is an excellent thread. Can you guys enlighten me on the best way to thin paint and keep the brush flowing smoothly.
I've notice some guys dip the brush in thinner before reloading it with paint?

 

Awesome post!! I also could use some help with loading the brush. Some colors seem to like more thinner than others. I've been stripin' for about 2 months. Tried it a few years ago and just got frustrated. Well going thru my stuff one day and found my brushes and 1-Shot and with some old magazines started practicing. Now I'm hooked!

Thanks for the help UNKL IAN