7 Hot Rod Artist Pinstriping for Charity Bid to win this helmet on Ebay now: Pinstriped Lincoln Electric Welding Helmet I already showed you this brand new Lincoln Electric Viking Welding Helmets we'll auction on Ebay with the benefits going to our friends from Progeria Research. More about all that, and finished pinstriping pictures here. So who did the pinstriping? Enter Von Hot Rod's Pinstriping Circus.  Pictured above, Von Hot Rod is a man of many talents. His pinstriping work is a style of it's own developed from years of striping at just about every car show including those outside this continent! Von's also been known to host the Sunday service at event's he attends. Von Hot Rod is also the man behind the Pinstriping Reunion held at the Grand National Roadster Show every year. In 2009, they raise a cool $14 g's for charity. So when I asked Von and his Pinstriping Circus for help, I knew he'd do it. The picture above shows Von pinstriping on the welding helmet. Having these photos showing where the helmet came from has got to add to it's collectible provenance, right?...

Pinstriping for Charity Bid to win this helmet on Ebay now: Custom Pinstriped Welding Helmet The good people at Lincoln Electric gave MyRideisMe.com some of their new Viking Welding Helmets to use as give-aways. (that's my full disclosure!)  As much as I wanted this simple gloss black helmet (#2815-1) for myself (plus the pinstriping from buddy) I decided to auction it for charity with the help of Von Hot Rod's Pinstriping Circus. What charity? With so many great ones out there, I don't want to choose, so I'm sticking with our friends from Progeria Research. They're nearing a cure that could save these kids and I want to be a part of it. I also think the world of the Foose Family for what they've been through and what they continue to do for Progeria.  Take 5 minutes to read this story of courage: Amy Foose. You'll be glad you did. So here's the helmet! I'll auction this helmet on Ebay with 100% of the proceeds going to Progeria... It's listed Right Now! The story is live in Lincoln Electric's iWeld Newsletter. (September 2010) I've created the Ebay listing...

Hot Rods and Custom Car Show Pictures As the Doors front man Jim Morrison once put it " People are strange when you're a stranger." Hmmm, lets take a good look at that. "People are strange when you're a stranger." Does that mean you are strange if you like insane pinstriping and you're passionate about hot rods? Is that really a bad thing? Well I know a couple of strangers that would disagree with "people are strange when you're a stranger."  That would be the guys from Strangers Car Club that put on one of the biggest and most anticipated shows in the South Bay every year.  The Strangers CC Car Show & BBQ at History Park in San Jose, Ca. This being the 11th annual show there was some rumors going around that this might be the last one. But no worries that little diddy was squashed quick. This years show seemed to be double in size of last years and always brings out the who's who in the hot rod scene as well as the big names around the bay. Names like builders Alex Gambino and Scotty...

When we hit a show, especially one with hot rods EVERYWHERE like the LA Roadster Show, we always try to grab some pinstriping pictures.  Take these pictures and use them for inspiration for work on your own car, or if you're just starting out, use the various styles as a reference. This is one of my favorite shots. Is this striping really old or just made to look that way? If we shot some of your work, let us know! Leave a comment below... Make sure to see the entire pinstriping gallery here: Pinstriping pictures from the LA Roadster...

Story and Pictures by Andy's Pinstriping "I have a friend in Seattle that was doing some pre-Spring cleaning and needed to make some room for a new project so he called me. The offer was too good to pass up.  I was told that if I could find a way to pick up an old 1963 Chevy truck that i could have it. I had to fork out $350.00 to have it delivered from Seattle to my door step and after looking at the truck, I realized that was a great deal!   This is what I started with. A good original truck with a bad 90's Teal paint job...but I saw potential. I did some research as well and found out that this truck started life as a Forest Service truck, so sentimentality kicked in as I had a beloved uncle that was a Ranger all his life. All of a sudden, an idea was born... Obviously, it had a height issue that needed to be addressed ASAP!  This is after the front went down about six inches. This is what it looked like after the back went down...

Check this out guys and gals.  I told you to keep an eye on Andy's Pinstriping blog didn't I?  Here's his latest work, getting ready for the Rat Fink Reunion 2010.  "As is tradition every year at the Rat Fink Reunion, The artist's give out an "Artist's Choice" award to their favorite vehicle at the show.  This years "trophy" from me is a metal panel that features my man Fink doing some ca-razy stripe and letter work...and to finish it off I also distressed the panel so it looks like it was hanging in Ed's shop in Maywood California back in the early sixties. I hope whoever receives this enjoys it as it was a labor of love to make!"  Andy   Click on the image to blow it up real big.  Looks even cooler! Rat Fink Reunion 2010, Manti, Utah June 3-5, be there or be square!  I hope to attend this year's event.  How often is there an event of this caliber in Utah right? Hechtspeed...

Here's a look at some of the coolest pinstriping found on MyRideisMe.com during 2009.  I think you'll agree, pinstriping is alive and well.  So many hours go into practicing and painting, it takes a dedicated person on top of the skill required to lay a great line.  Enough words, these pictures will tell a 1000 of them on their own.  Enjoy! Please check out the full Pinstriping Gallery to see even more works of art! Click the pictures to see them Enlarged. And a few of the stripers who we give much respect to, Charlie, Joel and Andy. So, there were so many pictures I wanted to share that one post is not enough.  Keep your eyes peeled for more!...

As always, MyRideisMe.com is on the lookout for pinstriping at races or car shows so you can see what's out there and decide what to do on your own ride.  Here's a few from the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ. All Photos by my man and Director of Photography at MyRideisMe.com, Swanee... To see all of Swanee's pinstriping pictures from Goodguys, please go to the Pinstriping Picture Gallery This Arizona Pinstriper Joel from 1320designs.com doing his thing on MyRideisMe.com member Mr. Freeze's slammed Suburban he recently picked up. Joel's rates are very reasonable for striping and he's also an up-and-coming designer as well. Make sure to check out his website and let him know MyRideisMe.com sent you! What do you think? If this is YOUR pinstriping work (or your car!), please let us know and we'll say so next to the picture. Leave your comments below and don't forget to see all the pinstriping pics in the: Pinstriping Picture...

I met pinstriper and all around cool cat Charlie Decker online, probably at Myspace, before I met him in person at the Grand National Roadster Show. I hit him up for some samples of his pinstriping and a quick bio so you'd know his style a little more.  For you west-side cruisers, you better make an appointment! Charlie lives in Connecticut, so if you see him, grab him and his striping kit to lay down some crazy flowing lines. I've included some of my favorite pinstriping from the, "One Arm Bandit" as he's known. These animal creations and artistic forms he's blended with sweeping stripes blow me away. I'm not sure I could draw that in a hundred tries and he throws it down freehand in paint right from his mind to the brush.  I don't know if we'll see this kind of work on hot rods, but if that's what you want... Here's more about Charlie: I started striping about 14 years ago around the age of 16. I was influenced by the 50's style hot rod era and the traditionally styled hot rods I first pinstriped after...

If you haven't seen my buddy Andy's Pinstriping blog yet, you need to check it out.  He has something in store for you for this Holiday season.  Check out these Christmas ornaments he has pinstriped.  Very creative and especially cool for us car guys!  I've got a set coming my way.  He can even do custom stuff like your initials or think outside the Christmas Box, he could stripe your hot rod car club name.    Tell 'em Hechtspeed sent ya! Happy Hot Rod Days! Hechtspeed                  ...

Andy from Andy's Pinstriping gives us 5 Steps for painting Vintage Door Art on Shop Trucks 1. The first thing I like to do is use some wax and grease remover and clean the panel to be painted. This simple step is honestly one of the most critical and most often overlooked steps in any paint project. . . . . 2. I like to make a stencil to help draw out the design. There are several methods I use to achieve the stenciled on pattern. One of the easiest ways is to use a pounce wheel & chalk, but on this particular truck I had no colored chalk, and obviously white wouldn't do, so I went old school on it and cut the pattern out of poster board with an exact-o knife....five blades and several blisters later ta-da, a handmade stencil. . . 3. Finally to the fun part, let's thrown on some paint! I start by tracing the pattern (after centering it on the door) with a stabilo pencil. After that it's pretty self explanatory...just fill in the spaces with the one shot color of choice. ....

During one of my daily classifieds searches, I happened upon a really cool vintage toolbox for sale that was pinstriped.  In the ad was a pinstripers blog, Andy's Pinstriping.  Of course I had to check it out (and so should you) and that's when I knew we had to feature Andy's work at MyRideisMe.com and add his work to our Pinstriping Gallery. So take a look at Andy's work and read below a little background info on how he got started.  Believe it or not, Andy's relatively new to pinstriping, but you wouldn't know it by looking at his lines.  Go ahead and see what Andy has to say about pinstriping and get ready to be inspired.  MyRideisMe: How did you get into pinstriping? Andy: I grew up around hot rods and custom cars, and have always had an artistic streak inside me; I got into painting cars while I was in high school, and I took a 2 year college course in Auto Body & Paint. I have never had any formal training in pinstriping, but I have always respected it as a nearly lost art form, and I...