Pablo Brena wrote:
"I recently got a lugged frame, but I changed my mind about the detailing line in the lug edges, currently is black and want to change it to gold. Returning it to the builder is not practical and local car paint shops haven't been very helpful. Is it possible to do it with a paintbrush? In such a case what sort of paint should I look for? Any advice would be appreciated."
You may need this:
(No relation to seller).
Emanuel Lowi
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that looks like a cool tool...but, there's an interesting problem with tools like this. I was reminded of the problem recently when I had a 1950s Rene Herse tandem frame pinstriped and logo'd by our local striping ace. He applied the paint with a couple of special brushes. He used masking tape as a guide, but otherwise was free-handing the stripes with a brush...and they came out quite beautifully. Brush-applied stripes have special qualities that cannot, as far as I have seen, be duplicated by a striping wheel or pen. There is a difficult-to-describe liveliness to stripes done the old-fashioned way. The stripes vary a little in thickness, which is probably part of the effect.
This liveliness is best seen on the old swiss bikes with the elaborate pinstriping. It may well be that they were using a wheel-tool to do this stuff--I have never been able to find out for sure how it was done. I'm guessing it was done like the old Schwinn paramounts were done, with a brush, mostly freehand, and probably quite rapidly. The Schwinns and the swiss bikes have that look...as if the stripes were done very quickly. Perhaps not, but that is the visual effect, to me.
What I have seen is a airy liveliness to the striping on those old Swiss frames, while more modern repro striping often looks dead somehow---too thick maybe? To uniform in proportion perhaps? done too slowly, without a certain art?
I dunno. I just know the old originals often look more entertaining than restorations when it comes to striping...but I'd love to be convinced that good striping in the old style can still be done. The guy who the Herse has made a career of it, mostly does cars and trucks, and he is a true artist.
Charles Andrews Los Angeles
"everyone has elites; the important thing is to change them from time to time."
--Joseph Schumpeter, via Simon Johnson