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History When did the first Lace paint job appear?

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by turboroadster, Apr 21, 2016.

  1. reason I am asking is a guy (Gary Kupfer) on the FB custom paint page said he was the inventor of the idea of using lace and his car was a 63 corvette that was displayed in 1965 NY Colosseum show with the first ever lace job.
    I was thinking it was around since the wild show car era of the mid 50's.
    anybody know? or heard of him?
    first lace 1965.jpg
     
  2. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,780

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Never heard of him but I remember a guy in my home town that had what appeared to be lace on the top of a 1958 Chevy ,this was in 1961 I think. HRP
     
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  3. lothiandon1940
    Joined: May 24, 2007
    Posts: 32,447

    lothiandon1940
    Member

    ....................and Al Gore claimed he invented the internet.:rolleyes:
     
  4. G V Gordon
    Joined: Oct 29, 2002
    Posts: 5,724

    G V Gordon
    Member
    from Enid OK

    I believe this '64 Grand Pix is said to be the first lace job. Painted by Larry Watson and I believe it was a new car at the time it was modified.
    (Source, Kustomrama site, Rik Hoving collection)
    Truth be told it was probably some kid in his moms garage, and he probably caught flack from his buddies for having "girlie" **** on his car...until someone of note decided to do it and it became cool!
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
  5. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 34,082

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    Gary "The Local Brush" Kupfer is a well known painter in NY area - featured in/on many magazines - as far as use of lace, Watson credited Von Dutch with giving him the use of lace idea
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
    rjones35 and lothiandon1940 like this.
  6. No way to really know who did it first, it was not popular until the late '60s or early '70s though.

    By the way I invented *** **** I got it *** backwards.:confused:o_O:D
     
  7. Roger O'Dell
    Joined: Jan 21, 2008
    Posts: 1,162

    Roger O'Dell
    Member

    Right Larry was at Dutchs. Dutch had a lace cloth on his work bench, Larry noticed the lace pattern when Dutch picked up the cloth. Then painted the pontiac above. And in the Bellflower and local areas everyone with spare bucks, got lace wheither whole car, panels, or roof tops
     
    Sonny Day Out and Gotgas like this.
  8. great info guys. Gary says he is still doing custom work. pretty awesome me thinks.
     
  9. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    The only Lace I've ever cared for was found on women's *******.

    Gary
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
  10. GearheadsQCE
    Joined: Mar 23, 2011
    Posts: 3,670

    GearheadsQCE
    Alliance Vendor

    As I remember the story Von Dutch had a pair of lace ******* laying on the bench. He had the same tastes as you (and me).
     
  11. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 34,082

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

    - you have a distorted but, interesting, memory
     
    lothiandon1940 likes this.
  12. As I recall it was the Watson story that started the lace craze. Funny how a lot of the crazy paint ideas back then were usually the result of screw-ups. One of them was called(I believe) Atzei painting. The article was done using a helmet and consisted of spraying it a metallic gold enamel and before it completely set overspraying with white alklyd enamel. The result was the lacquer would separate into crazed areas allowing the gold to show through. The only problem was it was difficult to control.
    Then there was always the acetylene torch wandered over a surface and then cleared. It again was usually done in small areas and preferably NOT on motorcycle gas tanks.
    The scallop style done by taking an old sanding disc and spraying over one side and then moving it half the diameter and spraying again and repeating until you had rows of these. A friend of mine used to take several business cards and fan them out like playing cards,tape them together and do the same as the scallop style. On smaller areas he would use his thumb as a template.
    I remember shooting over a black tank with industrial diamond dust in clear. Great effect;looked like stars against a night sky but tore up the spray nozzles.
     
  13. henryj1951
    Joined: Sep 23, 2012
    Posts: 2,304

    henryj1951
    Member
    from USA

    back in 1937 grandma want me to hang some lace table doilies on the outside close line,
    n while i was running outside my younger brother was brush painting his tricycle...
    well i slipped and fell and caught myself just in time before i hit the fresh paint but the lace doily was what stopped the fall and out of a reaction i pulled off fast as to not mess up his paint job.. well you can only guess the rest ,we been lace painting EVER since ...lol
    the above has been placed here strictly for your entertainment have fun enjoy
    :cool::eek::confused:
     
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  14. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,788

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    That's as credible as all the **** posted above you.
     
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  15. 0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Joined: Nov 12, 2010
    Posts: 1,810

    0NE BAD 51 MERC
    Member

    I remember reading a rare interview with Von Dutch where he described the lace doily on the work bench covered with over spray. The pattern left of the bench got his attention and he did a couple test panels. Later showing larry Watson . Watson then took it to the next level, possibly on the above. Pontiac. I latter read an interview with Watson who credited Von Dutch with the idea. And because of the coverage these two received in those days their ideas spread far and wide in notime. whether they where the first or not, the vast sum of their creativeity out way any debate on the credibility of this . post. They where both masters of their chosen art form. back in the 60s these guys along starbird , barris, windfield and Jefferies where my Bart Starr, Jonney Unitist or mickey mantel, enjoy the art and remember that things you cannot change are not worth worring your self sick about !! Larry
     
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  16. Always thought "lace painting" was **** ugly...
     
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  17. k9racer
    Joined: Jan 20, 2003
    Posts: 3,091

    k9racer
    Member

    I always thought using gaskets looked more masculine than lace.
     
  18. Jalopy Joker
    Joined: Sep 3, 2006
    Posts: 34,082

    Jalopy Joker
    Member

     
  19. dreracecar
    Joined: Aug 27, 2009
    Posts: 3,476

    dreracecar
    Member
    from so-cal

    One of the HOTROD books about custom painting credits Joe Anderson (Gardena CA) with the ******* on the bench story
     
  20. lothiandon1940
    Joined: May 24, 2007
    Posts: 32,447

    lothiandon1940
    Member

    ..............I always wondered how that all came about.:D
     
  21. Here's my OT '70 big-block Corvette that was only six weeks old when I had the rear panel "laced". 46 years later and I still have the car with it's original paint. I get a lot of comments at cruise-in gatherings when I tell the story of the car's history and why I keep it as a "time capsule" of my young days. I get a chuckle when I tell them that I took a pair of my girlfriends ******* for the pattern. They usually reply with something like "she must have been a big-un", to which I reply "yeah, but she was a good-un".

    Oct 17, 2014 pic 14.jpg
     
  22. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,734

    theHIGHLANDER
    Member

    Reminds me of the guy from Greece telling the guy from Italy "...we invented *** you know..." The guy from Italy says " Yeah but we introduced it to women."
     
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  23. wojojo
    Joined: Mar 15, 2010
    Posts: 1,116

    wojojo
    Member

    Couple pics of I '63 bug I did a "lace job" on around 1969 or 70.
    \'63 Bug01.jpg
    \'63 Bug02.jpg
     
  24. seb fontana
    Joined: Sep 1, 2005
    Posts: 9,203

    seb fontana
    Member
    from ct

    I don't remember lace being earlier than 68-69, does leopard pattern count?
     
  25. G V Gordon
    Joined: Oct 29, 2002
    Posts: 5,724

    G V Gordon
    Member
    from Enid OK

    I lived in Woodward OK around '69 and there were two brothers had a body shop across from our apartment who used to buy large granny *******, tape the legs shut an were them on their head when painting.

    Sent from my SM-G920T using H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
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  26. Fourdy
    Joined: Dec 9, 2001
    Posts: 455

    Fourdy
    Member

    A couple of my high school cl***mates painted cars. I can remember how crazy it looked to me to see some fancy table cloth on the hood of a car being painted. Another guy was doing something called pin striping and it looked great. Oh, the year was 1959 in WA state.
     
  27. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,780

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Regardless of who invented lace painting it's still being done.

    Fellow Hamber Quain Stott's Willy's. HRP

    Southeast Gassers at Greer Dragway 2015-44-XL.jpg
     
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  28. anothermoneypit
    Joined: Sep 18, 2012
    Posts: 48

    anothermoneypit
    Member
    from CT

    He also invented "global warming" been a big money maker for him and many others.
     
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  29. LOL a million right off the bat from a book and a Nobel Prize. The book has since been disproven (which is no reflection on Algore not his research anyway) but I have noticed that he has not given the million or the Nobel prize back.

    Ok so much for politics, to say who did the first lace job is like asking who did the first Gow Job, no one will ever really know will they. It is literally a question without an answer.
     
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  30. dan c
    Joined: Jan 30, 2012
    Posts: 2,653

    dan c
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    the last to tell a lie wins
     
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