Prior to World War II, automobile manufacturers employed pinstripers on the assembly lines to apply painted accents onto certain body lines, hand-painted with a long-haired brush in a contrasting color. The war ended this kind of attention to detail. Soon after, cars became even more mass-produced, with chrome becoming the decoration.
In the early '50s, it took a revolutionary artist named Kenneth Howard, aka Von Dutch-an accomplished sign painter, pinstriper, and creative force-to revive the decorative line and infuse it with an incredible new power. Actually, Von Dutch had been putting these designs on motorcycles for years before this. When he did it on a custom car, though, it created a visual sensation that took off like a rocket, and helped fuel the hot rod lifestyle. Custom pinstriping, like the flame, has been the graphic symbol of hot rodding ever since, and it has endured as the finishing touch on so many street rods today.
Nowadays, there are literally hundreds of pinstripers in the U.S. from which to choose, but many rodders enjoy the idea of doing everything on their cars themselves, from buildup to paint. For them, I'm proud to present the step-by-step process of 'striping a rod. I've teamed up with Lake Forest, California, pinstriper Jeff Styles as he completes the paint job on this fiberglass '29 roadster, built and painted by owner Joe Dean of San Clemente, California.
The mysteries of pinstriping can be categorized into materials, tools, and technique. The technique will be discussed in the photo captions, but the materials and tools are pretty simple and straightforward: paint and a brush.
The paint of choice is usually Sign Painters' 1 Shot, a long-lasting, colorfast enamel that covers very well and is available at sign supply stores, along with a couple kinds of thinners or reducers for use in different temperature conditions. The 1 Shot color chart is pretty complete, with good hot rod colors like orange, magenta, and soon, lime green. 1 Shot comes in small-size cans so you needn't invest in a bunch of paint for just one car.
House of Kolor, PPG, and Alsa all now offer urethane 'striping paint for use with modern basecoat/clearcoat finishes. These all dry very fast and, when used to outline flames or graphics, are intended to then be clearcoated and buffed after application for that seamless, sealed-in-plastic look.
1 Shot is more old school and is best left uncleared. If clearcoating 1 Shot is necessary, a compatible urethane hardener can be mixed with it to help prevent the lifting, bleeding, or crackling problems that urethane clears can produce in enamel. If you aren't sure which to use, consult your paint supplier.
Pinstriping brushes are made of pure squirrel hair, with the hair about 2 inches long to hold a lot of paint, and set into a short wooden handle. The most popular brand is Mack, which makes several series of brush in a range of sizes. Brush sizes are numbered from 000 to 4 or 5, relating to the thickness of line the brush makes when properly loaded and applied, with 000 being about 1/16-inch. Of course, a thin brush will make a fat line if you push too hard, but it won't be consistent. Experienced 'stripers can make different thicknesses of lines with a single brush just by adjusting pressure on the surface, but beginners should stick with a single size and aim for consistency.
Series 20 Mack Sword Stripers, those wound with green thread at the ferrule (where the hairs meet the handle), are excellent all-around 'striping and touch-up brushes. Blue-wound Series 10 Macks are better for designs, as they have shorter, more flexible hairs. Mack also makes long-line 'stripers with 2 1/4-inch hair to really hold a lot of paint. There are other specialty brands out there for professionals who like a particular style. All these brushes work with enamel or urethane paints and clean up with reducer or mineral spirits.
Use the proper reducer for the paint you're using and always clean your brush well and keep it oiled and stored properly when not in use.
The only other materials you need for pinstriping is a Stabilo pencil for guidelines, available at art supply stores, and possibly some 1/8- or 1/4-inch plastic tape for laying out flames (that's another article) and some talcum powder to keep fingers dry so they can move smoothly over the surface; and maybe a ruler to aid in layout. That's it.
The art of pinstriping comes with practice and experience. A sheet of glass or a painted sheetmetal panel makes for a good practice surface. Just 'stripe, wipe it off, and do it again until it's perfect. Many professionals started out by working with mentors who helped them along, like Butch "Butchr" Tucker, who gave Jeff Styles his start in Phoenix. Another good way to learn is to pick up a video by any of the dozen painters who have published them. These are advertised in professional trade publications like AutoArt Magazine, which your paint store may have, or check out www.autoartmagazine.com for subscription information and links to other painters' and suppliers' sites. AutoArt, published by Bob Bond, a veteran pinstriper, has how-to articles, eye candy, and artist profiles that will help you along the road to becoming a better, more knowledgeable pinstriper. Check it out, get excited, and then get going on that 'striping job!
The hand of Jeff Styles performs a pirouette as he outlines the inner part of a flame lick, pivoting around the supporting fingers to follow the tight curve. | 
Outlining flames requires a steady hand and the right tools. | 
Use wax and grease remover to make sure the surface is clean and wax-free before starting to 'stripe. |
After Jeff sprayed, clearcoated, and unmasked the flames, the orange outline was the next order of business. | 
Work on making strokes that start and stop crisply, especially where two lines butt together. | 
Jeff uses 1/4-inch plastic tape to eyeball the centerline of the deck and runs a Stabilo pencil line down both sides to get his initial guidelines. |
Using just the twin guidelines, Jeff starts off with a teardrop shape, tapered to a point at the bottom, on which to build the design. | 
Jeff then begins laying in pairs of strokes, first one side and then the other matching side, developing the design from imagination. | 
As the design grows, Jeff uses a variety of different line shapes: Vs, S-curves, open shapes, and closed shapes. |
The eye should flow smoothly through the design. This car will employ a three-color theme, so Jeff has to leave room in the design for the second and third colors. | 
Adding the second color to the deck, Jeff fills in among, over, and around the lines he'd already done in orange. | 
Carrying the theme over onto the cowl, Jeff lays down a similar design that's adjusted for the size of the area. |
Jeff mixed a lime green to match the flame colors, and this second color is begun on the cowl. It is also used to fill in the teardrop that began the design. | 
The final accent color is mixed, adding white to purple to make a lighter shade of the background color. | 
The finished decklid shows how a simple design can be made to fill a large amount of visual space by being bold and smart with your use of color. |
Even though the body lines weren't 'striped on the finished car, Jeff demonstrates the technique for us, emulating the factory 'stripers of yore. | 
The raised body detail gives the 'striper a perfect edge to follow with his supporting fingers. A double line is done the same way on a second pass. | 
It was decided to put a design on the grille shell behind the grille in the planning stage, so it was disassembled and a smaller version of the theme was started there. |
The finishing touch is the tiny signature, applied with a small lettering quill under the design on the decklid. | | |