Pinstripe brush question

I seen in other posts that a mack series 10-00 is the recomended brush, whats the difference or disadvantage from a series 10 compared to a 20?
I'm not rich and pretty cheap when it comes to breaking new ground on the unknown and the 20's look to be a few bucks cheaper than the 10's

I know absolutely nothing about pinstriping but would like to give it a try over the coming winter, keep in mind I don't know the difference from good or bad so whats a cheap alternative to that 1 shot? can I use tremclad or something like that for practice?



thanks

 

As far as I know, the main difference is the amount of brush hairs. The 20's will stripe a wider line.

I am just a newbie striper, so I could be wrong???

 

You can do fine world class work with an auto parts store green ferrule 00 Mack brush.

 

dude, pinstriping is impossible enough as it is. you MUST get the 10 series if you want any chance in hell of learning how to pull lines.

i've been trying to learn for a year now and it's still so difficult even with the right brushes and equipment.

it's kinda like golf. you go out and get your ass handed to you on a daily basis but you love it. then one day you finally start to see improvement i guess.

 

what auto parts store has these?

they probably call them touch up brushes, not pinstriping brushes right?


but they really carry them in stock?

 

The only real difference in the two brushes is the quality of the hair being used.The brushes are all wrapped by the same girls.If you want to do a little practicing,I don't see any reason why the green wrapped brush wouldn't work for you.
I would try to get some paint specifically made for striping though as the regular enamels tend to be a bit less covering.I've heard of the TremClad name before but have never used any.I'm assuming it's the Canadian equivalent of Rust-O-Leum.A little less opaque than 1-Shot or Ronan.
There are some tips on brush care and use in the archives here as well as a couple of How-to's you might want to check out.
Ray

 

Just do like I did... order one 00 Mack brush and a small can of red 1 Shot from DickBlick. For less than 20 bucks you can be striping with the right brush and paint and you'll have plenty of paint to practice with until you decide you want to invest in more brushes and colors. Using cheapie stuff will just make ya pull your hair out.

 

According to the Mack catalog,the Series 20
are made from Brown Squirrell hair,the Series 10 are made from Grey Squirrell.

They are both the same size and shape,for a given size.

Some guys,like Anthony,Frank Magoo,Shane Syx,can make the Series 20 sing.
That's what they learned with,because that's what was available.

Most people find the Series 10 easier to use,and more forgiving,
than the series 20.Personally,I can't use a Series 20 to stir paint.
Series 10 is only a couple bucks more,a good investment.I think they are around $12 US.

Never tried Tremclad,or Rustoleum.Just looking in the Yellow Pages
under "sign supplies" to find some place that sells 1-Shot.A small can
will last a long time.

I would recommend a 000 Series 10,first choice.

 

I got a 00 Mack from someone on eGay for $7 and some MEGA CHEAP One shot from 'HOTRODPRIMER' on here, as well as a piece of glass from Yorgatrons coffee table & away I went........


Total outlay....about $30

Oh, and I suck! But practice makes perfect

 

thanks you guys!

I'll keep an eye on ebay for a series 10- 00 or 000
my birthday is coming in November so maybe I'll get myself a little something early

 

What part of BC are you in? If you're in Vancouver you can get 1 shot($15)
for a small can and brushes at Loomis on Main st.Tremclad will work for practicing,although I painted my whole car,lace panels,stripping with Tremclad.Thinning the paint and learning the flow is important.1 shot covers better than Tremclad but costs 5 times as much.Have fun!

 

If you are a first timer, Any of ya... Get on line or order through a local, Sign supplies Company "Scharf" Long handle 00 striping brushes. They are great quality, and ten times easier to use due to the long handle. They are like 10-15 bucks... I laugh when I hear guys bitch at the price of striping brushes. Its the cost you spend to change yer own oil, and you don't think twice about that.
Now if some knuckle head old timmer or young know it all tells you, "Hey, thats not traditional" FUCK HIM. You wanna learn to be a good pinstriper, or just look cool in front of yer friends. I pinstripe for a living, I have now for 8 years, my father has for 20 years, Scharfs are all we use. When you get one (And this goes for Macks too) you will need to expierement with "Cutting" them down. I will post a drawing later when I get to the shop to show you what I mean if any of you want... Cutting down stripping brushes is the answer!!!

JD

 

pinhead lounge has a link to Stripekult. Those guys know thier shit. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but they are really open to helping, and they know alot. There is even a how-to thread, and some links to more help The guy who runs it has a gallery and striping supply store in long island, but you can order via phone and he'll ship to you. The guys on his forum swear by a brush called the pizza boy (custom trimmed mack ooo). I got one, but i'm not good enough to make the custom trim matter. It's always good to start with the best stuff you can get your hands on, that way if you struggle, you know it's not your supplies.As said before one brush and one color is a cheap start with good supplies, and the trim is crucial.

 

that's only if you're practicing perfectly in the first place...
I was taught by my dad and he was taught by a pinstriper back in the 50's...he also learned by watching, so sometime if at a show make sure it's cool with the pinstriper first and watch as he/she stripes.

 

I have never used a 10 I wish I could get a hold on one. I get my brushes from O'reilly's auto parts and yes they are called touch up brushes. Most carry Mack and most carry 00-3 brushes cost between 5-7 dollars depending on if you know someone at the parts store or not.....maybe thats just me. Anyway I can tell you that its not a bad way to start especially if you don't know if you really are interested in painting or not. If you are gonna do this thing right you will need some 1-shot to practice with (anything else would be useless and House of Color is too expensive) and if you have to order then you may as well order a couple Mack 10s or Xcaliber brushes, I have had the joy of using a friends Xcaliber and it is nice (they are not quite as long bristled as the Mack) although more expensive but truely you get what you pay for. Being a beginner and having made many mistakes (for starters lin seed oil long story) I would recommend striping on glass a glass mirrior or something of the like, when the paint drys you can just scrape it off and try again. Once you get the hang of it move up to doing drinking glasses or even better brandy glasses (If you can pull a good line on a curved glass surface you've got the skills to do a ride). Get yourself some Mineral Spirits for clean up and some mink oil, brush oil, or if your like me and can't afford such a luxery just some plain o'30 weight (not kill me Ray I'm a broke guy) to keep the bristles moist between uses (you can't get all the paint out of the brush, unless maybe you have an ultrasonic cleaner, and if you let it dry it will ruin the brush). Get yourself a stabilo pencil or china marker to draw some grid lines as well this will help you gain symetry until you can go to just one center line like some of the pro's do. You can also get sign blanks to practice on but if your like me noone around here carries them so I make my own from 99 cent alluminum "For Sale" signs at Walmart. Just turn them over and paint them what ever color you desire then stripe away, its a cheep way to practice and it gives you hamb auction foder too.

Good Luck and God Bless

 

I appreciate all the tips and stuff are giving since I am clueless and have no idea of what all pinstriping entails from getting supplies, brush care or mixing up a batch of paint

I've never seen anyone pinstripe in real life just pictures

thanks!

 

I dont get this! Ive never cut a brush and as I posted above,I only use green ferrule 00 touch up brushes. Why would you have to do that? When I first started 20 years ago, I used to think that guys would just say stuff like,"you need to know how to trim brushes" just to scare newbies away.
What is it about all of these different series brushes or cutting brushes,none of which I have ever seen or used that helps enhance the quality of a peice of striping? What makes a brush less forgiving?

 

maybe cut a stray hair or 2..ive seen more fucked up brushes by guys so called trimmin them..I got no problem with the 20 series and you can get them anywhere...Ive got good money wasted on gumbracker brushes i will never use.

 

Don't even think about trimming brushes
until you can control one first,and understand how it works.

Excellent way to ruin $100 worth of brushes,fast.

Grumbacher,Mack Belly,DC Flatliner,Lazerlines,etc
are much better suited to straight line work.

In theory,trimming brushes allows them turn tighter,easier.
But they don't hold as much paint,
so they won't do as long of a line without reloading.

 

I am not a stripper but, I think he meant cutting down the handle so you can get the feel you want. Not trimming the hairs. Maybe?

 

i don't agree that you can just look in the yellow pages under sign supplies and find someone that carries one shot just like that.

unless you live in california. i think otherwise, fine art supply stores are more likely to have the one shot as i've noticed, but they NEVER have the high temp reducer and never have the brushes either.

he'll probably have to order most of his stuff.

 

Thats it..... Im blowin some dough on some ???? series brushes. Ill never cut one. Ill probably end up chopping my eye out if I even try to attempt it!

 

Danny "HOTRODPRIMER" on here has a LOT of 1-shot for sale CHEAP....the details are here.....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19617

Thats where I got mine from

 

<----kafka brushes

 

I've looked in the Yellow Pages online to find 1-Shot suppliers
for guys in different cities,as far away as Texas and Calif.

Try it.

If you live in the midlle of Fucking Nowhere,you probably don't have a Yellow Pages.So look online,places like N. Glantz,Midwest Sign Supply,Bear Air,Dick Blick,Eastwood,etc.

I live in a big city,all our art stores SUCK,unless you want acrylics and watercolors.BUt I know at least 2 sign supply companies that have
everything I need except brushes,found both of them in the Yellow pages.

 

Gotta agree with you Anthony;the ONLY time I'll take a sharp object to a brush is if there is one of those annoying little,"stray hairs" sticking out or when I want a line to start rounded instead of a point.Removing hair from the belly of the brush,in my opinion,does nothing except lower the paint capacity and make more stray hairs.
The blue wrapped brushes do use a better quality of hair and I think they do pull a smoother line.I tried an experiment tonight:
I went through my obsolete brush box(the one I keep used and no name brushes in)and picked out a couple of brushes to try out to see how they'd perform.
I had an old Grumbacher 1010,a Selig,a Dauber(same as a Selig)and a couple of no name USA brushes with metal ferrules and round handles.
They all seemed to be about the same quality as far as straight line striping went but didn't have the paint capacity of a Mack.The Grumbacher style brushes still pull lousy sharp curves but that could be because I haven't used a square handled brush in some time.
The no name round handled ones didn't curve easily either;in fact the belly kept letting a few hairs spring away on turns causing extra lines.Almost like there was some dried paint in the brushes although those I've never used.I bought them at a hardware store that was going out of business for a quarter apiece.Probably about what they're worth.
I didn't have any of the green wrapped brushes on hand to compare but in my experience if I bought a dozen brushes at a time(which I usually do)I would get more users from the blue wrapped ones.Actually all of them can be used but some seem to work better than others.
I think I will try a more comprehensive test when I have some time.

 

The only right way to stripe is the way that works for you. I'm sure if you learn how to stripe with untrimmed brushes, then you'll get good with them. Plenty of people trim the 3 or so stray hairs at the tip, and some trim them to make them blunt. Making them blunt keeps your line width uniform as opposed to thick and thin, but the trade off is that you can't get a sharp point. Not the way I'd do it, but everybody's got their thing.
Not trying to step on anyone's toes, I know there are plenty of people posting on this that know far more than me about it...just throwing the couple of things out there that i've picked up in books and from others.

 

Thanks for the plug Dave ,,,

When I closed my business I had a big inventory of 1-Shot enamel and have sold a lot of it right here on the HAMB,,,

I was the only business that sold 1-Shot in this area for over 30 years,,,,,all the sign shops bought from me when they needed a color,,,,one or two at a time because they didn't want to stock the heavy inventory ,,,,,,

The sad truth is the sign painting business has been dying for a good many years,,,,,,I have seen many a craftsman(signwriters) die off and nobody to replace them,,,,,,except the friggin' machines that cut out anything a skilled artist once did,,,but now a 10 year old can do with a computer

I guess what i'm getting at,,,is that there just isn't a big enough demand for a product that doesn't have a fast turn over nowadays,,,,

1-Shot is a great product but you don't find it in every city anymore,,,,

I've been outta business for over a year and there still is not a dealer in this area,,,,they still call me,,,,,but ,,THEY still pay retail,,,,,you guys get it at a Hell of a good deal!,,,,,HRP

 

What I always wonder is if there are a bunch of shaved squirrels running around somewhere or do they kill the little critters first.