Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Hi guys.This is a first attempt at some wheel stripes we hade made up out of vinyl. As you can see, the guy who made them used the wrong measurement, so the stripes are a bit far away from the hubcap. Mk 2 should be a keeper. I'll get some pics when they're ready!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Grant, I have an unrestored original 39 Special spare wheel if you need photos for comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 here's part of mine unrestored, when they're done, I hope they'll look like yours Grant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Thanks Mark and Billy.I'm pretty sure we'll get it right now. We have the correct measurements of the stripes and the gaps between them. The guy got the measurement from the center of the hubcap to the start of the inside stripe wrong. Once we get everything right, it should be no problems to knock them out, although they do use a fair bit of vinyl. Another item for Magrath's Automobilia?CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1939_Buick Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Why not paint them on as per orginal ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhar1960 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Grant,They look good to me. I'd be interested in getting some. Will there be different colours ???Does Magrath's Automobilia do Paypal yet ??? :)Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Allan, I've yet to see anyone nail those stripes by painting them on! They can look terrible. There may be some out there that are good, but I haven't seen any that measure up correctly to the factory measurements. The factory must have had a pretty good system in place!Danny, they could come in any color that the signwriter's vinyl comes in. Dollar's in your favour, and yes, we do take Paypal!!!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egor Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 An interesting technique I read in a Packard newsletter: Get a set of striping tools, a record player, and a two-pound coffee can. Set the coffee can on the turntable, put the rim on the coffee can, switch on the turntable at its lowest speed, and get striping. I'm not sure how you are supposed to steady your hand, though. I guess you could build a little platform over the wheel? I ended up having a wheel shop do mine, as none of the hot rod stripers were interested. I have heard of somebody who has designed a template to lay over the wheel so you could just rattle can the stripes, but I don't know the quality of the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobj49f2 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 If you wanted to do them in paint you could do the same technique as laying out the vinyl tape but use thin masking tape. Lay out lines in masking tape, then lay out masking tape between the first rings of masking tape, then pull off the original making tape. Mask off the rest of the wheel and spray your paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 If you wanted to do them in paint you could do the same technique as laying out the vinyl tape but use thin masking tape. Lay out lines in masking tape, then lay out masking tape between the first rings of masking tape, then pull off the original making tape. Mask off the rest of the wheel and spray your paint.That's true. It would cost the same as getting the stripes in vinyl, plus the cost of the rattle can, and at the end of the day, would be painted for the purists!The car is off to be done today. Pics to follow.CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outlaw car man Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Good job Grant. Sandy JonesColorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobj49f2 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 On an old car or truck I think the irregularity of hand stripping looks a lot better than the uniformity of either vinyl or masked off lines. Vinyl lettering, IMO, looks horrible on a vintage vehicle. I realize most people, including myself, don't have the steady enough hand to apply a straight, even thickness line to the side of a car and especially to the small area of the wheel so we have to resort to the best we can do. I am going to try, when the time comes, to hand apply stripes to my rims using my pipe threading machine. I can chuck an old axle into it, bolt a wheel to it and turn it at a steady rate. I'll have to rig up some kind of brace to rest my hand on while doing it. I've watched professional pinstripers lay stripes and it's truly an art. I've also watch sign painter who could do free hand lettering, truly amazing. Too bad it's all a dieing art. With all the new vinyl procedures there is little call for the true artists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outlaw car man Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Try this.....Don't know what I'm going to do on the green one, vinyl won't work in this design. ( I don't think ) - 6 of them and the belt. Have an guy locally that might be able ? Rod guys want your first born male child.Local guy used to do this by hand, AMAZING. ( gone now ) an old car or truck I think the irregularity of hand stripping looks a lot better than the uniformity of either vinyl or masked off lines. Vinyl lettering, IMO, looks horrible on a vintage vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outlaw car man Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Opp, forgot the picture.......RE: pinstriping the wheels etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Nice Sandy!Now, on your car, and the likes of your vintages, I have no problem with pin striping by hand. And I agree with vinyl lettering not being appropriate. But I still think the vinyl wheel stripes should be good. At the end of the day, it will look factory. You have to draw the line somewhere!Does anyone know how the factory did them?CheersGrantPS Some great pinstriping videos on YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50jetback Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Ten years ago when restoring the 1950 I had vinyl inserts cut to stick into the impressed BUICK on the hubcaps. Some of the letters are made up of 2 or 3 pieces - for instance the K is 3 pieces - a single straight piece and 2 triangle pieces. When applied I defy anyone to pick it as not being painted.I am considering having some wheel stripes made up for my 1936 which are similar to the striping on Sandys 1933. I had thought of just having a whole run of U's being made up in vinyl to the correct dimensions ( spoke to spoke ) and then applying them individually, joining at the top of the U to give the continuous appearance required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Sounds good Stuart.The 1935 Dodge we have could use similar striping. It's a solid star pattern around the artillery wheel center, and a row of pinstriping around the outside of that. FWIW, I painted the Special in the 39 coupe's stainless trim, and hand painted the Buick crest on the horn button and heater. Modeling skills finally paid off! Plus the practise of doing similar on my old 39 Chevy. I painted the Chevrolet on the hubcaps in enamel, but vinyl would have been better wearing. BTW, the coupe's wheels are done now, and look great! Pics soon.CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Sorry about the pictures. It's night here.So, distance from hubcap is good, and we're all very happy!Also, here's one of the repro clips we made.Job done! Let the discussion continue!CheersGrant:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danhar1960 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Looks good to me Grant. I would be more than happy to have that on my wheels. At 50mph, not even the purists would pick it.Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassesguy Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Great job, Grant! So much better looking than plain wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outlaw car man Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Yes, old modeling skills have come in very handy. I did the hubcaps on my green 33 90, chromed & repaired, lightly sanded down the areas that would take paint, fine edge masking tape and a couple exactos to make the patterns on the hubcaps, sprayed with self etching primer, then final with Duplicolor 101.They came out as good as the originals on my other one. PLUS, I enjoy the hell out of doing the project.SandyNow, on your car, and the likes of your vintages, I have no problem with pin striping by hand. And I agree with vinyl lettering not being appropriate. But I still think the vinyl wheel stripes should be good. At the end of the day, it will look factory. You have to draw the line somewhere!Does anyone know how the factory did them?CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msmazcol Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Vinyl is like a bad four letter word in our town. We have way too many great artists around to even consider the idea. Do your homework. Some one can do it the RIGHT way in your reach.IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W_Higgins Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 It's doable. I have a tool for it and I suspect the factory did, too:While that example is only two lines of the same width (duplicating the original) there's a way to make varying line widths, also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Vinyl is like a bad four letter word in our town. We have way too many great artists around to even consider the idea. Do your homework. Some one can do it the RIGHT way in your reach.IMHOSo in 1939, GM had a whole bunch of artists painting wheels? Looks machine made to me.Our vinyl stripes LOOK better than HAND painted ones because they match the factory ones better than any hand painted ones could. Just look at the picture of the original wheel in the earlier post! And you can't even tell they're vinyl unless you're up really close. The last thing I want to do is hypnotise innocent pedestrians with wobbly wheel stripes!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Just saw your post Walter.Very nice.CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 The way pinstriping was done on the side of vehicles in the plant at least in the 80's because I watched them being applied was with a rubber wheel pinstriping tool like this. They put a guide on the side of the car and ran the tool with the rubber wheel and paint down the guide and it was done in about 5 seconds / side of vehicle. I am sure that this has been the method of choice anytime a pinstripe was applied to a vehicle.Beugler Pinstriper Tool for lining/pinstriping with paintNote that this tool is from the 30's.Here is a utube video on how to paint the lines on a wheel with a brush. I like the stool that he is using. You could use the same technique with the Beugler tool instead of a brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Hi Larry.We tried a lining tool, but had no luck with it. And that double pinstriping brush is pretty cool. Dad remembers his uncle, who ran a body shop, pinstriping with a very long, thin brush.BTW, I picked up a 76 Corvette body for parts yesterday! Ex Hawaiian car, very rusty.CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W_Higgins Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Just saw your post Walter.Very nice.CheersGrantThanks. I have to admit your vinyl strip is pretty nice. Most people would never catch it. Wish I had taken a photo of the tool the last time I used it. Somebody else designed it and I think they can still be purchased. It basically holds a cheap hobbyist type Bugler that locates off the center of the wheel. Setting it up takes a little doing to get the consistency of the paint correct and the striping tool aligned, but once you get the first one, the cycle time is about two minutes per wheel.Before I got it I did a set of '27 Chevrolet wheels by hand whilst spinning them on the car. The first one deceived me and came out perfect.... then each next one I had to wipe off and do over about four times before I was happy with it. The problem with using a brush (aside from wobble in the wheel) is if you don't keep the brush perfectly perpendicular it will corkscrew and when the wheel comes back around the ends won't meet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 That's some mighty fine work Walter.Interesting to hear about the corkscrew issue. Here in NZ, we have a very strong DIY culture, probably from being so isolated for so long. So rather than go buy something, we have a go at making it or whatever. It's a culture that is sadly dying out now with the internet and the relative ease of buying repro parts. So it pained us to admit defeat on doing the wheels ourselves!It's also one of the reasons NZ is such a goldmine of old American cars. Some unusual as well. For example, there's a 1939 Chevrolet Master 85 sedan for sale on our version of eBay. What's unusual about that? It's a flat back! Only 300 or so made out of the 500,000 odd made in total. And with new cars being so hard to come by back in the day, cars here were well looked after. Until import restrictions were lifted in the 80's. Now, we have a throwaway society. Sad really.Another thing with NZ, is we adapt to new technology quite quickly. Must have something to do with being a small country (4 million people). So when a new inovation comes along, it's readily picked up, which explains the lack of choice when it comes to stuff like wheel striping, etc. So, being the typical Kiwis, we find a practical solution!Sorry for the geography lesson!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Grant,AAAhhhhh, the Corvette. That is on my plate to finish up from the paint job last summer after this semester of classes. Only three weeks to go. The bride is anxious to have it completed so she and a girl friend can go joy riding. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Sounds good Larry!I'm getting mine ready for paint at the moment. I'm being held up with the front and back bumper covers not arriving yet, so the plan is to paint around the door shuts and deck lid, and start on the interior. Only thing is the new seat foam is in the same shipment as the bumper covers! Still targeting August to have her back on the road.CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Grant,Great looking stripes...They would make my Granddad proud, and he started his working career as a wagon wheel striper for the John Deere Plow Planter works in Moline Ill., @ 16 years old. Forty four years later he retired as John Deere's corporate comptroller. Drove Buicks all his life !!!!Mike SimpsonColorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Wow! That's a nice story Mike.You don't hear too much of that these days! CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest outlaw car man Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 When Dave Corbin was out here to see my 1933 90s, I believe he said the wheels were done with a stencil type thing at the factory. Mine look machine produced, the body stripes look hand done. Sandy So in 1939, GM had a whole bunch of artists painting wheels? Looks machine made to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 If anyone would know, it would be Dave!Maybe a stencil is worth looking at. As was mentioned earlier, using vinyl cut stencils would do the job and keep everyone happy .CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
41Roadmaster Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 (edited) Grant,I have to get a set of these vinyls for my '41-76C. These look great, better than anything else I've seen. Where do I get them? Gimme, gimme, gimme!Also, I met some very friendly New Zealanders here at the National Meet in Concord, NC (10 minutes from my home) over the last serveral days. I volunteered to sell kids tee shirts for our local chapter ("Future antique Buick owners") and your guys nearly cleared us out! I guess you start them young south of the equator??Cheers! as you say Anderson Edited June 28, 2012 by 41Roadmaster correction (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 (edited) I vote for Grant.To me they look beautiful, and perfectly fine for everyone, except of course the pickers of nit.Mike in Colorado Edited June 29, 2012 by FLYER15015 spelling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Thanks guys! We have a pdf file with the factory measurements that we took to a signwriter who then cut them out and applied them for us. I'll have to hunt out the file. The other option is that we get them made here for you and send them over for you to arrange application. Either way, I'll get the ball rolling over here. I have to go to work today (stupid Saturday show), but I should be ok later this afternoon. I hope those Kiwis didn't give you too much trouble!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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