Pinstriping: Old School Craftsmanship Is Still Alive And Well!

by Steve Alexander

The art of freehand pinstriping can be traced back as far as the Roman Empire. Freehand pinstriping was used to accentuate the lines of the horse drawn carriage in the 1800s, and to detail the curves and bodylines of early American automobiles in the 1900s. Since the 1950s, such visionaries as K Von Dutch (Kenny Howard), George Barris and Bob Bonds have depended on freehand pinstriping to not just add color and flash to their creations, but bring them to life. Of course, technology has been utilized to duplicate with tape stripes, stencil stripes and mechanical wheel tools, but where they all fail miserably is the inability to duplicate the love, passion, flair and dedication that only a skilled artist can convey.