Lettering Brushes

[Tom Leonard]

Good afternoon,
I recently picked up a few lettering quills ( Mack Series 189L, #0, #2 ) to starting learning how to letter with. I am wondering if anyone can make some suggestions on brushes as well as some practice media ? Once again I am brand new to lettering and I appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

Tom

[Mike Jackson]

http://www.theletterheads.com/lhparts/lettering.html

Hey BigPapa,
I hope you have taken the time to review all the feature pages on the site. One of them, linked above, shows and explains much of the information you are asking about. Practice on anything cheap!





There is quite a bit more on the page.

[bill preston]

Hi, Big Papa,

I learned lettering---self taught---using flats many years ago. Later, began using quills. Flats IMHO are a little easier, at least in the beginning. They have that nice chisel edge that allows a sharp beginning and end to a stroke. Quills seem to hold a bit more paint, so each type has its advantages.

The post above this one shows basic strokes, and is a good starting point.

Some letterers find it easier to work "down", as on a tabletop. Others---myself included---find it easier to work on a more or less upright surface. Paint consistency is vital either way. Too thin, and it will either run all over your surface, or if working up, it will run all over the handle to your hand. Too thick, and flow suffers.

Excellent quills of the Raphael brand are available from Rochester Art Supply, Rochester NY. Pricy, but very good. Haven't bought flats for a long time.

Brush care is a subject all its own.

Hope this helps.

[Doug Fielder]

Hey Tom,

Good for you, keep the craft alive! Anyway, when I was first starting out, as mostly a pinstriper (but still use paint), I was told to practice on glass.
There are a couple of reasons for this, first you can put some rule lines on the back and then paint the whole thing white or tape a piece of paper over the back so you can see the lines.
Second, glass is the hardest surface to work on, so I was told that if you can paint on glass, you can paint on anything. (very unforgiving)
Third, 1 piece lasts forever (more or less).
Fourth, it is easy to wipe off or scrape with a razor to remove old practice.

The only drawback is that you can't keep some of your first examples, so you can see yourself progress.
If you want to do that, then use the classified ads in your paper. Most have lines between columns, when turned 90 degrees gives you nice horizontal rules.

So good luck and welcome to the club!

[Tom Leonard]

Bill,
Thanks for the tip. That's what I was hoping to find, suggestions on brushes. I will look into some flats from Rapheal. I wasn't sure, hence the reason for picking up the lettering quills.

[Tom Leonard]

Hey Doug,
Thanks for the help. I like the glass idea, I read about practicing on glass for pinstriping, which is what lead me to lettering. I am also learning pinstriping too! I have been practicing on some 12x18 and 18x24 panels for the striping, but have been thinking about the glass to practice on as well. I am looking forward to learning the age old craft of hand lettering and pinstriping.

[Doug Fielder]

Hello again,

I started teaching myself 8 years ago, and learned lots by trial and error, after meeting Alan Johnson at a car show (he was showing his old stake body), he told me to subscribe to Auto Graphics magazine (by NBM) and to go to shows where I would meet all kinds of "Letterheads" / "Pinheads". I went to my first show on Father's Day, where I met Alan, this time working, and a few other stripers working away, not really any time to give me help, they gave me a mirror to work on (talk about hard!) but I didn't stop. A couple of months later was Lead East, that is where I met Gary Jenson from SLC, Ut., he took me under his wing for 4 days and taught me the "FEEL" of proper paint consistency (a problem I had) and a few striping tricks that carried over to lettering. It is a great time, learning and painting.
For brushes, I have all different ones. I have almost a whole odd number set of Mack Grays (told they were the easiest to learn with, the odd number thing is because everyone wants even numbers), a couple of LUCO flats (very expensive, but bullet proof), a collection of Grumbacher GraySpeed flats (extinct), and now that I am "in" with the Jersey crew, I have a bunch of NOS (New Old Stock) quills in brown and gray from our secret Jersey stash. Striping brushes: I have a few old Grumbacher 1020s with the black plastic handle, a couple of Dominicans (expensive) and a couple of the expensive european ones, but the best are the Mack 10 series. They are cheap and can do anything (a striping brush can do). Though I did try out a DOA FlatLiner that DeWayne Connot (the originator) had at SignWorld in Atlantic City, I haven't bought one yet. It is a great brush for long straight lines. I also have a few liners and a Jenson Swirly Q brush (I have yet to master).
Overall, take your time and put up with the practice, it isn't easy, but lots of fun and you can make money at it too! One thing I always liked to see was someone with years of experience take MY brush and show me how its done - The thing I learned from that is... It's not the brush, it is the experience behind it. Well sometimes it is the brush, but with experience you can fix it yourself.
Hope some of that helps.

[Tom Leonard]

Hey Doug,
Like you I am completely self taught for all of about 60 days now. I started with pinstriping. I bought a Mack series 20 first in 00 and then I found out about the Series 10, bought a 00 in that too. I also spoke with Steve Kafka and bought a few of his brushes too. Not having much success with those yet, but I definitely like the series 10 it is working well. I seem to be getting a pretty good handle on paletting and consistency, now its just a matter of putting down the practice strokes. I've been reading signcraft and autoart magazine for the past couple months and really enjoying those so far. I have been keeping an eye out for any letterhead or pinhead meets coming up somewhere close, just haven't had any luck yet. There was a getaway last week to Vegas for airbrushing and pinstriping, unfortunately couldn't make it, looked like a perfect place to get some great hands on from several greats in the business. A definite for next year without a doubt. Also watching out for Panel Jams that my be close. I really appreciate the input on your experience with different brushes. I will continue to add to my collection of brushes as time moves along and strokes begin to flow more and more smoothly!

Thanks again!

[bill preston]

Hi again, Tom,

Not too sure if Raphael makes flats, I suppose they do. Just never looked into it.

Scharff used to make a good flat---I think Quill Hair and Ferrule is a dealer. ArtSign was another good brand---again, not sure if they are still around.

Since you say you're new to hand lettering/striping, I am curious about how you do the care and feeding of your brushes. There are probably as many opinions on that subject as there are brush users. Just wondering.

[Tom Leonard]

Hi Bill,
Well, from what I have read and found online, I have been using Oneshot brush cleaner and conditioner on my Mack stripers. I use odorless paint thinner to rinse the conditioner out before I begin practicing - I dip into the thinner repeatedly than palette on a phone book to get the thinner out as much as possible before I begin to palette with paint, which helps also to get to the consistency on the paint. When I am finished practicing, I use a first paint thinner rinse to get as much of the paint as possible out of the brush, then follow that up with a second clean thinner dip and continue to palette with that until its clean. I then follow up with a thorough dip and soak in the brush cleaner and conditioner, which I also palette, but I palette on a small section of sign panel so I can tell how well the brush is saturated with conditioner. I palette until the brush has good consistency, not too much, but enough, get it shaped and store it for the next use. Hopefully I am doing it correctly, let me know what ya think?

I was able to find Rochester Art supply out of new york online, and it does look like Raphael does make some flats. I haven't ordered any yet, but was able to find some, and not priced to bad either.

Thanks again for the tip on brushes, I will look into Quill Hair and Ferrule!

[bill preston]

Tom, you do pretty much the same things I do, and use the same products. Only difference is that I use slow reducer/hot weather instead of thinner.

I don't clean my brushes to the extent that you do---just a quick rinse or two in reducer, and drop it or them into a pan of cleaner/conditioner---and leave it or them soaking and submerged until next time. Handles all face in the same direction, when traveling to a job, prop up the bristle end of the pan, place a snap lid on top, and go. Conditioner does just that---keeps them nice and ready to go. Color contamination has never been a problem.

FWIW.

[Tom Leonard]

Bill,
I typically use one shot reducer (6000) or low temp reducer with my paints. The only thing I use thinner for is the first few steps of cleaning my brushes. Good to know that I'm on the right track.

Thanks