One trend that never really went away, but is now more in the spotlight than ever before, is pinstriping. Cool patterns are finding their way onto everything, from the hood of a truck all the way to the shop toilet seat - nothing is safe from the lines of a mad striper. Being the mini-truckers we are and wanting to learn how to do everything ourselves, we hooked up with one of the most talented painter/pinstripers we know: Steve Deman. Steve's work has been featured in just about every automotive-enthusiast magazine out there, and now he is starting a school of custom painting called Kolor Kings. After a little begging, he agreed to give us a one-on-one class on how to pull lines.
If you're interested in attending a class, check out the Web site for appointments and scheduling. The following story will give you the basics to get going. And just like most things worth doing, what it really takes to be a good striper is practice, practice, and more practice.
 1.Here is Steve's basic setup...  1.Here is Steve's basic setup and what you will most likely need. The two main tools required to stripe would be the brush and the paint. Steve says, "Pick up a few brushes or Daggers in assorted sizes (he recommends Mack Brushes) and some One Shot paint and start practicing." |  2.Fist thing we needed to...  2.Fist thing we needed to do was get the paint thinned out and on the brush. Steve poured some thinner into a Dixie cup and a few globs of paint onto the high-dollar mixing pallet. Dipping the brush in the thinner and then moving it to the paint will allow you to progressively thin the paint. |  3.With your fingers, remove...  3.With your fingers, remove the excess material. You want the hairs of the brush to be loaded completely with color, but not so much that it won't stay sharp when your fingers come off the end. |
 4.After we practiced pulling...  4.After we practiced pulling a few lines of our own, Steve looked and told us most of our problems came from not keeping the brush at the same distance from our panel. The higher the brush is away, the thinner the line it will produce, and so forth. We were inconsistent in that, so our line got respectively fatter and thinner. Steve recommended that once we got the brush set in our hand, to basically lock all our joints and then use a piece of tape as a guide to keep us straight. |  5.Here is another view of...  5.Here is another view of how to properly hold the brush. Note how he uses three fingers to base his hand. This is the best way to keep the lines consistent, and if you get in the habit of using this technique, good results will come sooner rather than later. |  6.After you get comfortable...  6.After you get comfortable with the straight lines, it's time to tackle curves. To produce a good curved line, you have to dedicate one of your base fingers as the pivot. Find a comfortable spot for your pivot finger and start. As the line curves, you'll need to swing out your elbow and maybe even take a step and move your whole body to make it all the way around. Steve made it look easy and put down a near-perfect half circle compared with our lame line next to it. |
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8. |  9.If you're laying something...  9.If you're laying something out that has straights and curves, Steve recommends pulling the straight lines first and then connecting the ends. That way, if you blow it, you can just wipe off a little bit and keep trying. |
 10.Another cool training technique...  10.Another cool training technique Steve showed us to make those symmetrical patterns is to make a pounce stencil. First make sure the area you want to stripe is cleaned with wax and grease remover. |  11.A pounce stencil is made...  11.A pounce stencil is made by drawing a design on paper and then punching holes along the lines with what looks sorta like a cowboy spur. |  12.The holes will allow powder...  12.The holes will allow powder to go through and stick to the paint. Steve applies the powder by pouring some into a folded-up paper towel and then patting it over the stencil or pouncing it. |
 13.Now you have a perfect...  13.Now you have a perfect guide to follow and really hone your striping skills. |  14.When pulling long lines...  14.When pulling long lines on new paint, you might find your hand sticking instead of gliding down the panel. To cure this issue, keep some baby powder handy; it works well and won't damage your paint or stripes. | 
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 16.When you're done, make...  16.When you're done, make sure to clean out all the paint from the brush, then load it up with a light oil such as vegetable oil to keep the brush pliable. This may gum up if left for a really long time, but you should be using them once a week while you practice. |  17.When you have mastered...  17.When you have mastered the brush, you can start designing pieces like this. | |