Introduction, and of course, a few questions!

[Christopher Lang]

Hi all. My Name is Christopher, I live in scenic Brentwood Bay, BC. That's on Vancouver Island, just outside of Victoria. I'm no artist, or anything of the like. What brings me here, is that I've decided to learn to letter, specifically to letter my truck, for shameless self promotion! Now, after some practice, I have done just that. Of course, now that I have a taste for it, I'd like to know how to improve! I find myself looking around the shop, seeing what else could benefit from some lettering!

So, my questions relate specifically to the experience I just had. I used One Shot, and a pounce pattern for layout. Now, in a few places, I was a little heavy handed with the chalk, and in a few places (well okay quite a few!) I clipped the chalk dots on the truck. Do you pros run the pounce wheel a little outside the pattern letters, so you don't get chalk in the paint? I used carpenter's chalk, as I had a bottle of red kicking around of course. Is it better to use something else? Also, how do you decide on what wheel to use to puncture the pattern? Is this choice based on experience, and the size of the lettering?

Also, is there a rule of thumb for what size of quill to use? I ended up doing this with a #0 mack quill, the one with the brown handle. It felt big enough on the large letters, and small enough on the small ones. The large letters are about 4" tall or so.

Do you professionals just do one coat, or more? Does this hinge on whether you get coverage I suppose?

Thanks for any info you share. There certainly is talent out there!

I have linked some pictures from my photo-nerd account, I assume that's okay. You can see the chalk everywhere! I better wash the truck in a few days.

[erik winkler]

I think it looks super for a first time.

[bob gamache]

Welcome to the club Christopher! Nice job! Keep that brush in your hand! Everyone has their own brush & brush size preferences, at the moment I prefer mack 179 series, all different sizes... its a basic plain wood handled quill. Most of the time one coat of 1shot will do depending on the color, thats why they call it 1shot! Try putting a little 1shot hardener into your mix along with a little naptha.
Keep up the good work, experiment and have fun!

[vance galliher]

............that looks like a nice 5o chevy panel christopher........i had a 50 flatbed for a few years..nice paint job !

[Christopher Lang]

Thanks for the kind words. I really had a blast doing this. I was apprehensive about doing it, but found that after the first stroke, I was no longer uneasy.

Vance, you are on the ball! It's a '49 GMC Panel, that was converted into a suburban, its got rear windows, which go up and down. Before this, I had a '50 Chev One Ton I drove for 3 1/2 years full time. I miss the flat-deck, but I sure like the smoother ride, and being out of the weather!

I didn't add any hardener to the One Shot, as when I painted the truck, I just used plain jane enamel. I was afraid the hardener might wrinkle the cheap paint on the bus. I was also too cheap to spring for it!

I'll have to keep finding things to practice on around here, as I sure enjoyed doing it.

[BruceJackson]

I would avoid red chalk. For some reason, that particular color can stain a white background and is impossible to remove.

As for the chalk hills....after you've pounced it, lightly brush over it with a soft brush. This will knock off all the excess chalk but will leave enough for you to see the layout. I would only use a pounce if doing multiples of the same design. If it's a one-off, i would use a chinagraph pencil. Another trick with pounces....after you've run a pounce wheel over your design, rub the back with some fine abrasive paper to open up the holes.

With experience, you won't need to use a complete pattern defining every edge to be painted....because once you develop your hand and have a feel for it, you can simply "tick" out the layout. This means you only need to mark out a general guide. You may indicate where to begin the letters or the general position and you then modify it as needed during writing.

Be patient, this takes time.

[Christopher Lang]

So, do you fellows and ladies use carpenter's chalk, or buy some kind powered chalk at the art/sign supply shop?

[Mike Jackson]

Hello Christopher,
You may not have found this page on TheLetterheads.com

http://www.theletterheads.com/supplies/index.htm

You can find all kinds of sign supplies on the links.

Powdered Charcoal can be purchased at any of the sign suppliers. A bag of it lasts a long time. You can buy a commercial pounce box or simply pour some in an old T-shirt and tie it up into a ball. Generally speaking, the finer the better. Powdered chalk like you'd find at a lumber yard for snap lines can work, but it is a bit coarse for most fine work. If you get too much of a build up, try just blowing off the excess with an air hose or an aerosol air can you can buy at any office supply.

You might even find powdered charcoal at a pharmacy. It used to be poured into gelatin capsules to help with digestion or upset stomach. That's where I found my first bag as suggested by EC Matthews in his Sign Painting Course book.

Good luck,
Mike Jackson

[Aaron Taylor]

Christopher try looking up Chris Dobell in victoria bc if its close. Super cool fellow!

[erik winkler]

If I lived in Canada, Piere Tardiff would be a good teacher.
Google his name...