Pinstripe Basics

Now that Project Devin is painted, we're down to the detailing. The red stripe cried out for a contrasting pinstripe to set it apart from the black body color, so pinstriper and fine artist John Stout was called in. Stout has been pinstriping since 1956 when he was 14 and his father, a sign painter, taught him how. Over the years, Stout has striped hundreds of cars and motorcycles. Although he is now principally known as a mural artist and custom sign painter, he still enjoys laying a line on something sporty.

Stout came by the shop to give me an estimate on striping the Devin. When I readily agreed to the price and asked when he wanted to get started, he replied: "Right now!" Out came all his paints and brushes and I grabbed my camera to record the festivities.

	A pinstriper's tools include a steady hand, artistry, pure gum turpentine for thinning the paint, and an assortment of paints. Pure gum is the highest grade thinner made.	Stout pulled a light gray test stripe on the nose, followed by maroon and then light red. I was nervous at first, but he wiped off the tests with a turpentine-dampened rag. We ruled out silver, since it tends to fade.
There are lots of brushes that are used for various parts of the pinstriping job. Some of the better brushes are getting harder to find as hand-painted signs are replaced by computer-generated ones.	The paint was mixed and tested on a pallet. Stout even sells these artistic pallets in a gallery!	Stout cleaned the stripe edges with a water-dampened cloth.
We matched the gray to the same tone as the gray-painted wire wheels.	For long pulls Stout uses a thin masking tape line that acts as a guide for his hand. It is NOT used as edging for the pinstripe itself.	Laying one finger along the edge of the tape allows Stout to maintain a straight line. He listens to the sound of his finger squeaking on the paint to maintain a constant speed as he pulls.
The corners are striped with a thin, short-bristle artist brush, which excels at turning tight corners. Note how Stout steadies his striping hand with his other hand.	Here the short brush is used to connect the stripe where it crosses small changes in height.	The hand does not move the brush-the striping movement actually comes from the elbow and shoulder. At the end of the pull, the stripe is straight and even.
The same small brush is used to continue the stripe over the edges of the trunk and hood.	The curved tip of the stripe is laid in with the long brush. Careful brushwork is needed to keep the stripe even where straight and curved sections connect.	The short ends of the stripe as it crosses the interior of the intersecting line are pulled freehand, using only a practiced eye. The corners are not done at this time.
Vertical portions of the stripe are always pulled up, not pushed down.	Good pinstripers are adept at positioning their spare hand to support the brush hand. Even though the positions look awkward, the pinstriper must remain relaxed.
Gradually curved lines on rounded surfaces are the hardest to do. Note the very long bristles on the brush.	The gray stripe works perfectly, separating the red from the black without looking gaudy. Pinstripe jobs can get expensive if outlining flame jobs or graphics is involved, but a simple edge on a racing stripe shouldn't cost more than $200.	In back, the tapered point of the stripe makes it look like a black widow spider! Stout's signature is just below the deck pin. It looks much more professional than using pinstripe tape, and will last longer as well.
For the vertical part of the curved line, Stout uses the long-bristle brush and pulls it along with his fingers resting on the bodywork below for support. The brush is leaned to the side to keep the bristles together on curves.	Finally, Stout signs his masterpiece. As striping jobs go, the Devin wasn't much of a challenge for a master striper-but it is representative of what many Cobra kit builders might like as the final touch on their racing stripes.