My New Stripin' & Lettering box

[KewlKustomPaint]

I got a new box for all my stripin and lettering stuff.
I picked it up at the local Harbor Freight,it's stainless so I eventually can letter and stripe it with my name and some stripe work.First things first though I need to do alot of praticing before I Letter and stripe it.
I got my new lettering quills and outliners from Coast yesterday and I went to Harbor Freight tonite and got this plastic storage box with removable dividers and it works great as a brush box.I simply removed the dividers so that there was a long enough area to fit the brushes.The stripe box has a lift out tray where I keep my mixing sticks, exacto knife & blades,Mack Wipe out tool,stabilo pencil,scissors,disposable rags and flexible ruler.

In the bottom of the box is my stripin paint,mixing cups,Plastic bottles with
1 Shot reducer,cleaning thinner, brush preservative,and my tapes.I put the plastic brush box on top of the paints and then the tray fits on top.I know eventually i will out grow this box as right now it only has 1Shot paints in it and when I get my urethane stripe paint i might run out of room.I can stack the paints 2 deep and maybe put a divider so that 1 Shot paints are on one side and Urethanes on the other. for now it's a good beginning as I want to practice lettering and hopefully stripin.I know I can learn the lettering but not sure how good I will get at the scroll stripin'.
I got Kaftka scroll brushes and my Mack 00 swords and Excaliber 00 sword then I just got some Mack lettering Quills and Mack Outliners.I want to get some bigger quills also for bigger lettering but have to save up for those.

Well now I need to find the time to practice and read up on the tricks of sign lettering.I can practice this anywhere as there is no overspray like airbrushing so I can lay out some cardboard on the dining table and practice in the comfort of A/C.

I know you all are gonn say hey where's the lettering and stripin' on the box,LOL but that will come after I get much practice as I want it to be done right,so i'll wait till I can get some practicing down and be comfortable with my lettering so I don't have to have a screwd up stripin' box cause I didn't wait till I practiced and be somewhat good at it first.

Here's the pics
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0267.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0268.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0269.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0270.jpgaking and pinstripin'

[KewlKustomPaint]

Brush box
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0271.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0272.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0273.jpg
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m143/JeffsCustomPaint/Ab%20case/105_0274.jpg

[JimmyG]

You are off to a good start Jeff.....I hope your thinner bottles are solvent proof....
May I suggest also add 3 ounce paper dixie cups for intermixing and some cardboard palettes, razor blades, more tape type selections, I see ya got the mixing sticks.....
Oh, and a 3 part break down mahl stick is a major missing ingredient....

Personally, I keep my paints and thinners in another separate toolbox, and I reckon with some hand painting action you will also find the need for such......

....

[KewlKustomPaint]

the bottles are all solvent proof i get them for my airbrush paints from Coast. the big qt of
1Shot reducer wouldn't fit in the box with the tray so I just poured some in the storage bottles with the flip tops. I might modify the tray and cut it down so the reducer can and thinner bottle will fit in the one end.I'm trying to keep everything in one box so I don't have to carry a buch of seperate boxes and like I said in time I will out grow this and move on to something bigger but want to keep everything portable. thanks for the tips on other items to get,I knew there would be other things I would need I'm just trying to acquire what I can with my budget and get the other things as I find out what all is needed for this type of work.
Once again thanks for listing those items and I will look into getting them

[KewlKustomPaint]

I do have the 1 ounce plastic mixing cups in there but I will get some dixie cups for mixing bigger quantities. I had the plastic cups as they are solvent proof for mixing airbrush colors and you have to use those if you use urethane stripe paints as the reducer will attack the wax cups i'm sure. I know they work for 1shot as the guy who does or painted pinstriping at where I work uses them.He is a subcontracter when we have cars that have painted stripes that need to be replaced due to blend panels and replacement parts,he comes in and does it.I'm too busy fixing the cars to worry about getting into stripin at work.He uses the differnt stripe stencil tapes as he had carpal tunnel surgery twice and he won't freehand stripe anymore but he did before he had the surgeries.Now he just does body shop and dealer stuff and uses the stencil tapes

[Skids]

hey cool! ya remembered the toilet paper!

[KenKarnage]

sounds like your growing out of your new box already :)

IDK why I don't see more stripers and AB artists using the stanely fatmax. It's become something of an industry standard in tattooing. For me it has just enough room for everything but my machines, and wheels!

Those go in a pistol case that gets all kinds of raised eyebrows at the airport :eek:

[Stang]

I think I looked at that Fatmax box but it was pretty expensive. Looks like it would be great though.

[Whit]

Lookin Good,,, but,,, I did'nt see a "Mahl Stick" !!!
One of the best lil tools you can have around !!!
Lookin Good,,, Lookin Good !!!

[KewlKustomPaint]

yah Jimmy mentioned getting a Mahl stick in the lettering quills thread.I haven't had the funds yet to order one but when i can I willIt's not like I need it right this minute as i need to just practice the brush strokes and learn those.I tend to buy this stuff when money allows but don't always have the time to dedicate to it.Lately I have been busy with yard maintainence and working late at my job,so Time I get home to my girlfriends I'm exhausted.
From not being at my place for awhile the weeds have taken over the flower beds and just the maintainence of the grass is a chore as we are starting tio get rain alot ,which is good but it makes everything grow and well it's alot of upkeep that I don't always have time for.
The yard and landscaping was my roomates thing when he's here in the winter months he keeps it so nice with the plants,flowers and garden but he goes on the road for the summer doing his T-shirt airbrushing at County and State Fairs and them I'm left to try and deal with it and I have a full time job that alot of times I have to work 6 days a week.My roomate works vey little airbrushing in the fall/winter so he has lots of time on his hands and why he does all this landscaping but it puts a burden on me when he's gone.Last year he had to redo everything as I couldn't keep up with the weeds and garden and it all got leveled and started fresh.He's hoping not to have to redo it all and save the money and build a deck which we need,so I have to save as much as I can but he will have to replant some flowers as the heat and weeds has gotten to them but the plants are doing OK so if I can weed and keep that under control till October till he get's here will help out alot,but then that gives me less time for airbrush and now learning leattering.
Sorry to be so winded but that is how my life usually is I really want to learn and airbrush more but everyday life seems to get in the way,but when I do get some off time I have the equipment and supplies to do it and why I tend to buy this stuff and it sometime sits in waiting.

[Whit]

Dosn't really have to be a "Pro" stick,,,
I've got a lil 3 piece in my box for emergencies,,
but the stick that gets 95% of the use I made myself,,,
a "dowel" from my daughters first crib (approx 3 ft)
and one of her lil doll heads from a discarded doll,,,
(even tho she screamed when she saw it,, it works)
I burned the hair off and subbed "Silicon" for the hair,,,
works great and never ceases to generate a conversation
when I'm in the field using it,,, onlookers invariably comment
on it and then the story of how it came to be comes up,,,,
PR in this biz goes a long way for future biz,, so you need to
talk while you work,,, just comes with the territory :smiley_dog_kiss:
Dosn't have to be fancy,, just needs to work,,, hahahahaha !!!
Good Luck on your Path here,,, getting to be a "Lost" Art !!!
(edit)
forgot,,, this is wrapped with "Duct Tape" for strength !!!

[sharonsstudio]

I have a question..
what is a mahl stick is it to steady your self and to keep yourself from touching your work?

[KewlKustomPaint]

a Mahl stick is a hand rest tha you can lay across your work and rest your hand on so you don't touch areas with wet paint.Artist use them on their easels putting one end on the easel tray and the end with the padding against the canvass and then it keeps a gap away from the canvass and you can rest your hand on the mahl sticck when doing detail work so your arm doesn't get tired without worrying about smudging wet paint.
Here is an example,click on the pic with the hand resting on the mahl stick
http://www.dickblick.com/products/wood-mahl-stick/

[Whit]

I have a question..
what is a mahl stick is it to steady your self and to keep yourself from touching your work?

True,,, it acts as a "Bridge" to rest your hand/wrist to steady and
keep out of wet paint,,, it has a use in fine arts as well on canvas
due to the slow drying times of the paints used,, as in signwork !!!
Consist basically of a stick with a non agressive tip on one end !!
The tip can be any number of materials,, mine just happens to be
a clear silicon that I use to adhere dimensional letters to substrates
combined with the doll's head,, could just as easily be a rubber ball !!
-
(edit)
-
Opps,,, Did'nt mean to hijack a thread here,, but a mahlstick is very useful !!!

[KewlKustomPaint]

Whit that's a funny story and yah I guess I could just make one myself and can even get crafty and make one that has removable sections.looking at that fancy aluminum 3 piece one on Dick Blick I know I could weld one up with threaded ends. they are not expensive but i know I have stuff laying around in the garage I can make one with nd an adjustable one would be kewl

[KewlKustomPaint]

no hi jacking here Whit, your helping with these tips even if I know about a Mahl stick people who read the thread Like Sharon get informed also and that is why we are here not to just help one person but others who read the threads.

Thanks again for the help and info. Whit

[JimmyG]

HA! methinks Whit's mahl stick is wrapped in duct tape to keep his artistic magic from oozzing forth ahead of his brush....

...

[KewlKustomPaint]

oh I thought it was so he didn't get splinters from the wooden dowl he got from the old baby crib. or maybe it doubles as a baton and you know the wrap those with tape so when they twirl it and throw it in the air it don't slip in their hands,LOL

[JimmyG]

Now seriously here Jeff, ya have a few options given on brush handling....mahl stick support, hand over hand, hand over other hand on elbow, and freehand pinkie finger to surface as a guide for short or long strokes given your learned condition of paint thinning....
I'll reckon most airbrushers use hand over hand, and pinkie extended for guide to surface distance.....
Learning to use a mahl stick for airbrushing is perhaps a very useful concept.....

I freehand most of my lettering by hand over hand, paint cup and palette in left hand, brush and pinkie guide with my right hand.....
Likewise, I can hold my mahl stick, paint cup and pallete in my left hand and just need rest my right wrist on the mahl stick to pull brush strokes.....
I can go either way depending on the size of my lettering or graphics painting.....

I highly recommend that you start your practice stroke learnings with using a mahl stick.....doing such will teach you a balancing act that you may have not figured thus far in your learning.....

[KewlKustomPaint]

oh crab no i have to perform tricks,LOL
should i stand on one leg as i'm doing so for greater balance??hehe

seriously after i make or buy a Mahl stick i will give it a try
I usually do the pinky thing when stripin so I imagine it might be the same as the lettering but i will try all the options cause evryy now and then you just need something to rest you hand on and why the Mahl stick is valuable

[Whit]

oh crab no i have to perform tricks,LOL
should i stand on one leg as i'm doing so for greater balance??hehe

Lettered a boat once,,, 2 piles it was anchored to was just enough for
one foot on each,,, balance while lettering,,, paint/thinner/palet were
on the boat (sailboat) railing,,, no mahlstick,, no free hand,,, just one
hand holding on to the boat,, other hand with a brush !!!
To top it off,,, everything went fine,,, but I smeared it a couple of places
while trying to get back into the boat,, lil touch-up,, good to go !!!
The "Saving Grace",,, it was all "Script",,, were it block,, sink or swim !!!

[redanner]

Are ya using an old phone book for a disposable palette? And some Bon Ami for cleaning glass before lettering? Nice kit!

[Smi7th]

Just ran across this thread and thought I'd add a couple of things.

I find that old tackle boxes(the metal kind)make great paint kits for a small outlay.They can usually be found at flea markets or yard sales for under $10.Try to find the aluminum ones with 4 foldout trays;they are light and hold plenty of paint and equipment.I usually re-package my 1-Shot into 4 oz. cans as I use it everyday and when the can gets hard I just toss it and get a fresh one.
For keeping solvents(thinner,brush cleaner,and wax and grease remover)I find an old ammo box to be ideal.They are weatherproof and keep any fumes well contained.I have a small ammo can that holds three pint cans,my pounce blocks,masking tape(1/8th inch that I keep inside one of those metal tins that they used to send CD's through the mail in),magnetic tape rolls(used as a guide for side stripes),and a pair of cotton gloves(keeps fingerprints off the job).
I also made a table from an old walker(the folding type)using shelving that clips to the bars;a towel rack made from a paint roller,threaded rod,a couple old paint can lids,and a roller cabinet latch.Also has clips to hold my tripod and palette made from an old clipboard.Folds up nicely and has wheels to move it around.
A mahl stick can be made from an old gun cleaning kit and a rubber ball.Again these can be found at yard sales cheap.I bought a .30 caliber kit from WWII at an antique shop for $6 and it was still in it's original tube.A 99 cent cat's toy(4 rubber balls)provided the end.As an aside;I have a 1920's era sign artist's kit that had a mahl stick in it that was made by the Bridgeport Gun Implement Co.that also made gun cleaning kits.
Hope this will help the newbie just starting out.
If needed I can provide pictures.

[Skids]

If needed I can provide pictures.

Good stuff there Smitty! YES PICS! and perhaps a new thread for them? You're a wealth of old school info, and I'm diggin all of it here!