posted
I've asked striping questions before, but I hope not this one. Anyway, I've long wondered how many pinstripers actually pull the long lines and how many use tape?
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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If your any good, you pull them by hand, faster and more immediate control. Using tape requires forethought in design and layout that can end up looking stiff afterwards. Most I know do it old school, besides, real stripers, stripe, not fill in...
-------------------- Frank Magoo, Magoo's-Las Vegas; fmagoo@netzero.com "the only easy day was yesterday" Posts: 2365 | From: Las Vegas, Nv. | Registered: Jun 2003
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Did you know Cadillacs and such are hand-striped with no tape and this makes them more valuable??
My Dad had a Caddy which is my brother's possession now...dark charcoal grey with little dark red 1/8th pins and perfect little finishes.
If you look close, you can tell it was done by hand. He was always saying I need to learn to do it...lol :)Mabey he shudda footed the bill on one of them hi-dollar stripers for me...
James, I don't know how to do it well either, but I do know....it's only practice, practice, practice, and then only with the right brush...
-------------------- Signs Sweet Home Alabama
oneshot on chat
"Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog" Posts: 5758 | From: "Sweet Home" Alabama | Registered: Mar 2003
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James, Ken Moss' question is valid, as your question is unclear. Tape can serve two purposes- as a border to fill between, and as a finger guide across a panel where the paint doesn't actually touch it.
(I find it takes longer to put tape down than to just stripe it so I rarely use tape, but then I'm mostly working near edges and you have something along which to run your fingers as a guide.)
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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It depends on the job... I am not one to fill in the spaces, but I will lay down a piece of tape near the place I want to strip and go at it. Lots of newer Harleys are actually done with a Beugler striping tool. All the ones I restore are done the old fashioned way. They aren't perfect, but people are not machines! Then there are folks that have been striping for 25+ years, they can lay down stripes very well and make a living by just striping. After 8 years, I am just OK compared to the likes of my many mentors such as Alan Johnson, Glen Weisgerber, Howie Nisgor, Clay White, Gary Jenson and Mac the Knife.
Keep practicing and as Bob Bond told me, use the tape at first and fill in, then practice pulling between the 2 pieces of tape without touching either side and after 100 or so, you will get the confidence up to pull 'er with 1 piece of tape (more profit margin).
-------------------- Doug Fielder Fallout Grafix Port St. Lucie, FL
16 years with a brush in my hand... Posts: 273 | From: Port St. Lucie, FL | Registered: May 1999
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Evidently that isn't as true as you recall Si. Being a striper who likes to burst one's bubble I must say that striping a fiberglass bubble compared to striping a Rolls Royce, the difference is mayham.
And Frank, remember that even Hannicane uses two guide lines of tape for straight lines.
I'll match my straights against anyone in this here country.
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
posted
Sorry for the lack of clarity, I meant using tape to fill vs no tape (or tape as a guide). You see, I was practicing for awhile, then dropped it, now I'm thinking of picking it up again, but I don't want to practice something that's so impractical that nobody's doing it. However, the responses here clearly indicate that people ARE still pulling long lines.
I figure I want to learn it that way, because it's harder, and it's likely to pay dividends later (not just cash).
Sometimes the second time around is the time it 'catches'. My sister in law once gave me an instruction book for blues harmonica, I fiddled with it for a few days, then it sat for a year. Then I picked it up again, and have practiced for probably 4 or 5 years.
Thanks for all the replies.
[ April 05, 2005, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: James Donahue ]
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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James, "Just get the brush" and use tape for your figure to ride on, practise, dito , dito, and when you experience a specific problem ,like flow,etc. ,then we can help you better. I think it's better to learn what ever works for you. I've been told I stripe"backwards" but my cars win top awards in many shows like Pebble Beach .Just do it! "maintain" AJ
-------------------- Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Grafix Blairstown, NJ 07825 [URL=http://www.alanjohnsongrafix.com] Posts: 261 | From: Blairstown, NJ | Registered: Dec 2001
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AJ, your answer made me question your striping backwards, so....you stripe left to right? That is way I have been doing it for nearly 30 years and had a few other stripers tell me that I stripe backwards.....maybe they stripe backwards!!!
Hetz
-------------------- Jim & Chris Hetzler JC Hetz Studio 513 W 3rd St. Muscatine, IA 52761 563-263-2803 jhetzler@machlink.com www.jchetzstudio.com
"We are the one that makes you look good!" Posts: 137 | From: Muscatine,Iowa,USA | Registered: Sep 2000
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I am wanting to get into it for real. Years ago, when I still had work to do, I put on a stripe or three for folks who wanted something simple. I taped it both sides and filled it in.
But today, now I see that striping with real paint and stiper brush may put us on the map for a change! While others are using stick on stipes and decals, we can paint it on and be a minority!
So if you can pull a real stripe without tape, they will not only pay for it, but get a good show too if they hang around to watch. Remember the stories we hear all the time of the guy with a beer in one hand and a brush in the other? "He didn't take all that time to layout. He just put the brush on and lettered it across (perfect arch no less) and did it for only 40 bucks!"
Apparently we have a chance to get into that folklore and entertain the natives with real striping now that the others are sticking it to them with taped stripes.
I was talking to a man who said he is building custom bikes and said that it is "hard to find someone who can pull a decent stripe in this state" and if he could find one, he can keep 'em busy!
posted
Using tape to fill in is acceptable,however if you are to be a full time professional striper I think you need to pull the long straight ones, in order to command the respect and the dollars. when I go to my Cadillac accounts they dont want to see you fill in the lines and ask for 125.00 and up. Put the time and practice into it and you will get the dough ray me!
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