Editing How to pinstripe your car

== Preamble ==
A comprehensive guide to pin striping your ride, showing you the paint, equipment, laying out and different techniques used in the art of pin striping. Pin striping is accomplished by years and years of practice.

[[Image:Doing_some_pinstriping.JPG]] 

[[Image:Doing_some_pin.jpg]]

== Paint and equipment ==


[[PAINT]]

[[Image:One_shot_lettering_enamel_paints.jpg]]

What to look for when your buying paint is a paint that is rich in pigment, has consistent array of colors, applies easily, dries hard and durable, and will stand up to the Test of Time.

[[Equipment]]

BRUSHES

Always buy the best brush that you can afford. The following link will show you the different profiles and size of brushes. http://www.kultureshoq.com/mack_brush/pages/original.html

TAPE and MASKING

In most cases you will be using a fine line tape which is very thin and stretchable. Masking sheets can be used to define a given area that you will be working in.

GUIDES and RESTS

Pin striping is usually a freehand art form, but using a mechanical rest to steady your hand is an acceptable practice. A wooden dowel rod of 1/2" or better with a styrofoam or closed cell foam 'donut' on one end will allow you to rest your wrist and steady your hand above your work, yet provide you with the freedom of motion to draw your creations. Freehand pin strippers, generally, use their 'pinky' or thumb to gauge distance when pulling a line along a body line of a vehicle. We'll get into this more in the Technique section.

MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT

A pounce wheel is used to make needle hole perforations in a mask that traces a form or design that you have rendered and it allows you to transfer that design to another area. After placing the mask down in another area, a talc bag is used to strike over the perforations, when the mask is removed; an outline of dots will be revealed to show your pattern.

== Layout ==

For beginners, the best way to start is by drawing a grid of one inch squares on a plain piece of paper. You can make this as big or small as you want, a good size would be about 16 X 24 inches. Draw a defining center line with a darker pen right down the Center of the paper, this is what you will work off of. Next, get a piece of clear acrylic
sheet of approximately the same size or slightly larger, this will be your working paper. Tape the lined sheet to a solid working table and then tape the acrylic sheet to the table too. Using a non permanent marker, practice drawing lines that are equal distant off of the center line. Start with a large vertical teardrop in the middle and work off of that. If you goof up, just erase with paper towel and start over. Designs should be clean and simple to start, and with practice you can expand from there until you feel comfortable enough to advance to paint. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

== Technique ==

So, you have your paint, brushes and your oozing with confidence because you have been practicing for a long time. Before we put paint to media, lets go over a few things first. 

In order to load the brush, we just don’t want to dip it in to the can and start painting, like you would if you were painting a house. Get some shallow plastic dishes about 3 inches across and 1 inch deep. In the past, I’ve used plastic fruit dishes or yard sale saucers to hold the paint. Using a spoon, ladle out an ounce of paint into the dish. Paint is expensive, so make sure to clean off the spoon too!  Cover your open can with the lid.  Stroke the brush through the dish of paint and use the edge of the dish to squeegee off any excess paint. First, the bottom of the brush and then, either side. Repeat as necessary. As you draw it through the paint, you’ll want to use some downward pressure on the brush. This method does two things, it removes air from within the brush, and the other is, it distributes paint evenly throughout the brush. Never put paint back into the can. 

Now that your brush is loaded, we’re going to tell you how to hold the brush. Forget about the pen and pencil technique you being using since grade school. You will want to hold the brush in between the thumb and the index finger, the rest of your fingers will be used as a bridge (rest) or as a guide. Keep your fingers on the ‘dry side’ or use a rest to work off.

How to hold a brush, brings me back 50 years to my teacher’s explanation which I kept with me all these years. Holding a brush is like pinching a nipple, firm enough to keep it between your finger and thumb, but light enough to feel its arousal.

Three things dictate the size of a line; pressure on the brush, the angle of the brush, and speed that the brush is pulled at. Experiment using your loaded brush. Start by pulling just straight lines, vary pressure, angle and speed factors to acquaint yourself with each action. Watch the paint as it flows off the tip of the brush and adjust as required to suit your needs. When you accomplish this exercise, start curving your lines, left and right. Notice what happens to the inner and outer sides of the curvature. Again, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. 

Exercise #1

Using a piece of 24 ga. satin coat or acrylic sheet the size of a license plate covered with primer. Scratch a center line vertically using a scribe, nail or pencil. Prepare your brush for work. Starting at a point on the center line near the top, shape out a teardrop, a spear head, and wide based arrow in any configuration that you desire. Put your initials and the date on the bottom right corner, drill a hole in the center/top. Hang it on your wall, so that you will remember where you came from and try to improve on this piece every time you pick up your brush. This is your inspiration.