Truck Pinstriping

Truck pinstriping is a decorative art that gives your truck personality and will make it stand out from the crowd. Flames and lightning bolts convey speed and aggression, while roses and barbed wire can convey passion. Truck pinstriping is also widely used to advertise businesses and brands on company trucks.

Truck pinstriping can be done in four ways. The most expensive, elaborate, and time-consuming one involves doing it by hand. You obviously need to know what you’re doing to pinstripe by hand, and therefore many truck drivers hire professional pinstripe artists for the job. Hand drawn pinstripes by professionals will yield the best results, and most of the designs seen in truck shows would be hand drawn.

For those who can’t afford an artist, you can opt to have the pinstripes drawn mechanically, via stencil tapes, or you can get decals. Mechanical pinstriping is the method of choice if the design is simple – such as straight lines along the side of the truck – and this method ensures precision and uniformity of the line. Many auto shops will have the equipment to carry out mechanical pinstriping.

You can also pinstripe your truck using stencil tape. Although this method does require some skill, it is relatively simple, and with practice most people can draw simple pinstripes using tape. Find a practice surface, and practice on it until you are confident enough. Stencil tape comes in a range of colours and widths.

The simplest, cheapest and most convenient method for truck pinstriping is using decals. Pinstripe decals are stickers carrying a pinstripe design, and are applied to the truck either through transfer aided with water or heat, or though a simple peel-and-stick process. Truck pinstripe decals require no skill to apply, are fairly durable (they generally last between 5 to 10 years) and are easy to remove. They are the best choice for people who might think they’d like to change the pinstripe graphic in the future, as you’d simply need to peel the decal off and stick the new one on. Make sure you clean the truck’s surface down to the paint before applying the decal, as residue will show up as bumps in the pinstripe and may cause the decal to come off.

To come up with a pinstripe idea for your truck, think about what you want to convey with the design and what kind of persona you want to give to your vehicle. Pinstripes can also be used to accent the truck’s dimensions, for example straight lines running along the sides of a truck make it look longer. Barbed wire is used to give trucks a rough image, and skulls are pinstriped to give the vehicle a dark and evil aura. You can also pinstripe a message or motto; other popular pinstripes include the outlines of animals (such as panthers and snakes), wings, flames, and logos of bands, sports teams, or automobile brands.