Winter 2014 MACKbrush.com 1
History
The Andrew Mack Brush Company is rich in history and pride. We are the originators of the Pinstriping Brush, and we feel that we still give you the very best brush in the world. Founder Andrew Mack got his start in 1865 while working for the J.J Deal Wagon and Buggy Factory in Jonesville, Michigan. The Deal factory quickly gained the reputation of first class products in every detail - even the paint! It was with this emphasis on quality that the Mack Company made its contribution for several years prior to 1891. Andrew Mack (1860 - 1946) had been the head striper at the Deal Co. Andrew was a true perfectionist and he had never been completely happy with the
quality and performance of the striping brush furnished by the Deal Co. Through months, and probably years, of experimentation with various brushes, Andrew finally developed what is now known as the “Mack Striping Pencil”. All carriages carried a great deal of pinstriping during this period of our country’s history. It wasn’t long before other companies and pinstripers throughout the United States heard about Andrew’s improved striping brush and wanted to secure a few brushes for their own striping needs. Soon the demand for Mr. Mack’s brushes was so great that it was time to strike out on his own and enter into the manufacture of striping brushes. Andrew
Mack resigned from the Deal factory in 1891 and was destined to originate one of the most unique manufacturing companies in the world. The Pinstriping Brush that is manufactured today is essentially the same brush that Andrew Mack first made in 1891, (although many of the leading stripers in the world would give anything to get hold of one of those “Old Mack brushes”). The pinstriping brush is totally a hand-crafted operation, just as it was in 1891. There is not one piece of machinery used in its manufacture. It is completely manufactured in Jonesville, Michigan, by eight to ten very talented technicians.
The Company continues as the world leader in quality pinstriping and touch up brushes, but they have also branched out into many other allied areas. One of the fastest growing areas and also the most gratifying has been developing new and unusual Brushes for the Sign Painter. We have had great, dedicated employees through the years. It has been a challenge to develop new products and ideas over the years. We have all enjoyed a fantastic relationship with you.
Jon M. Fast Owner Mack Brushes
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Steve Powers mixing paint in his studio
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Artist Spotlight
Steve Powers In 1999 Steve Powers (AKA ESPO) stopped writing graffiti and tending bar to become a full-time artist. Since then he’s become known for his witty word-based works that are a hybrid of sign-writing and mural painting. Here he tells us more about the themes explored in his work and his myriad influences. DB: Please could you tell us briefly about your background and how you ended up working in your current capacity?
SP: I am the fifth of six children that grew up in a chaotic environment with 24 cats and a gun under my fathers pillow. I was desperate to escape and art was the pick I used on the lock. I attended university of the arts on Broad Street in Philadelphia. It was there I acquired the discipline to complete a task, a skill that had eluded me for 20 years. I immediately dropped CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE >
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Types of Brushes
The brushes for painting signs and pinstriping all come from one of these two types of material that form the tuft of a brush.
Natural Hair Synthetics No animals are raised or trapped for the sole purpose of making a brush. Natural animal hair may be used in its pure state or mixed with other types of hair to accomplish a particular mixture for price, and or, performance, Natural hair will hold a tremendous amount of paint, because it has microscopic scales along the shaft of the hair.
Synthetics are man-made of either nylon or polyester. They may come tipped, tapered, flagged, abraded or even etched to increase the brushes’ ability to carry color. The man-made filaments may be dyed and baked to make them soft and more absorbent.
Advantages of Natural:
Advantages of synthetic:
• Holds high amount of paint
• Very durable
• Superior flow and consistency
• Less likely to be damaged by moths, paints or mild solvents
• Traditional feel
• Easier to clean • Use synthetic brush for acrylic paint
6 Brush Info
>> INTERVIEW FROM PREVIOUS PAGE out and applied my newfound ethic to painting water-ice stands and soft pretzel carts. From there it’s been one foot in front of the other until I got here. DB: Which have been your most significant and satisfying projects to date? SP: In 2009 I went back home to west Philadelphia and painted a love letter to the neighborhood across 50 walls along the elevated train line. The love was received and returned to me and that is really the peak experience so far. DB: When did wordplay and words as images become a central theme in your work? SP: That was there from the start. When I painted graffiti I was focused on one word. Now as an artist I’m focused on all of them. DB: You work at many different scales do you have a personal preference? SP: when I make paintings I feel like I’m in communion with all of art history. I talk to the artists that have been talking to me all my life. INTERVIEW CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE >>
Painting script letters on metal using a natural hair paint brush.
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The Original Mack Sword Striping Brush
Series 10
100% Unmixed Blue Squirrel Hair Hand crafted and shaped as it was many years ago. Extra attention given to quality control with respect to shape and cleaning. Made with the very finest grade of Blue Squirrel. Featuring our new Blue Thread Ferrule
8 Striping Swords
size 3
size 2
size 1
size 0
TOMSSBS10
size 00
$18.95
size 000
Brush pictures not to scale. See size chart for accurate size details.
series 10 Size Chart SIZE
HEAD WIDTH IN INCHES
000
3/16”
00
7/32”
0
1/4”
1
5/16”
2
13/32”
3
1/2”
4
9/16”
PRICE
$18.95
sizes 000-4
REGULAR LENGTH OF HAIR: 2 inches
>> INTERVIEW FROM PREVIOUS PAGE DB: Do you prefer to work indoors or outdoors? SP: The weather is always perfect indoors, but when I paint outside I’m hoping for an interaction with a passerby that we’ll put up on the wall. When it happens, a fleeting moment becomes eternal. DB: Did something or someone in particular influence the sentiments expressed in your work and your aesthetic? SP: I’m in awe of the power and the reach of music. To compete with the majesty of music, I make paintings that are visual blues. I distill my everyday experience into paintings I call daily ‘metaltations’. They are painted very fast, fresh from the epiphanies that inspired them. The larger paintings draw from those metaltations and go to a deeper understanding of the transactions we make everyday to live our lives. INTERVIEW CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE >>
TOP: Examples of some of Steve Power’s daily metaltations RIGHT: Tradtional pinstriping painting on a hot rod using a MACK series 10 striping brush.
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size 0 size 2
BROWN KAZAN SQUIRREL HAIR
Series 179
• Brown Kazan Quill • Attached Red Lacquered Handles • Graduated Hair Lengths This brown quill is handmade in France & Germany by highly specialized brush makers. This lettering quill is an essential tool in every sign painter’s kit. The brown quill is best suited for smooth surfaces such as glass or automotive surfaces. Brown Quills are slightly softer than the grey quills.
size 4 size 6 size 8 size 10
size 12
size 16
size 20
size 24
Brush pictures not to scale. See size chart for accurate size details.
$15.95-$21.95 BKQHS179
10 Lettering Quills
size 30
>> INTERVIEW FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
series 179 Size Chart SIZE
LENGTH OUT IN INCHES
0
11/16”
1
3/4”
2
7/8”
3
15/16”
4
1”
5
1-1/16”
6
1-1/8”
7
1-3/16”
8
1-1/4”
9
1-5/16”
10
1-3/8”
11
1-7/16”
12
1-1/2”
14
1-1/2”
16
1-9/16”
18
1-5/8”
20
1-5/8”
22
1-5/8”
24
1-3/4”
26
1-3/4”
30
1-7/8”
DB: How do you think the popularity of online design resources has influenced design and art being produced today?
PRICE
SP: Instagram has been really interesting for me. In the 3 months that I’ve been posting daily metaltations, I’ve learned what will move the needle with the Internet. So as an artist I resist the temptation to give the people what they want, and I try to push different work to challenge them and myself
$15.95 sizes 0-3
$16.95 sizes 4-7
DB: What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
$17.95
SP: When I was 15, my father, shortly before he ran off to start a new life, told me ‘I don’t give a fuck what you do but you better have a plan’.
sizes 8-11
DB: What is the worst piece of advice you have ever been given? SP: My mother told me twenty years ago that I was crazy to think the city would ever let me paint walls. She hangs her head now and tells her students ‘don’t listen to me, my son didn’t and he turned out fine’.
$18.95
sizes 12-18
-Interview by Andy Butler for Designboom.com on March 27th 2013.
$21.95
sizes 20-30
Daily painting part of Steve Power’s Love Letter Series
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series 189 Size Chart
Grey Talahoutky Lettering Quill
Series 189
• Grey Talahoutky Squirrel Hair • Attached Black Lacquered Handles • Graduated Hair Lengths
$15.95-$19.95 GTLQS189
12 Lettering Quills
size 4
size 6
size 10
Brush pictures not to scale. See size chart for accurate size details.
size 16
The grey quill is also handmade in France & Germany and it is equally as important as the brown as an essential brush for the sign painter. The series 189 is a universal lettering brush. The grey hair has more snap than the brown. It is used for general commercial work such as signs, truck lettering, boats, etc. The grey hair is more durable than the brown, and this brush is suitable for lettering on most surfaces.
SIZE
LENGTH OUT IN INCHES
0
11/16”
1
3/4”
2
7/8”
3
15/16”
4
1”
5
1-1/16”
6
1-1/8”
7
1-3/16”
8
1-1/4”
9
1-5/16”
10
1-3/8”
11
1-7/16”
12
1-1/2”
14
1-1/2”
16
1-9/16”
18
1-5/8”
20
1-5/8”
PRICE
$16.95 sizes 0-3
$17.95 sizes 4-7
$18.95
sizes 8-11
$19.95
sizes 12-20
Steve Powers
using a Series 189 brush for a hand lettered sign in his ICY Signs studio.
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Selecting
The Right Brush Selecting a brush is largely a matter of personal preference. " It depends on what fits into the person's hand and what they have the greatest comfort with," says Wappingers Falls, N.Y.- based striper Howie Nisgor. However, he does suggest a shorter handle length for beginners, since it gets up inside the hand for greater control. Testing out different brands and types is an ongoing trial and error process for most painters. " You don't really know what kind of brush is right until you've got it wet and you're actually using it." says Nisgor. Peter Millar of Quill Hair & Ferrule, a brush distributor in Columbia S.C. agrees. “ Its highly individualized as to what works for the individual person. It also depends on what kind of work they want to do,” he says. For painting curves, Millar recommends brushes that have little hair in the belly
14 Brush Care
section. “ If you have a lot of hair in the belly and you go to make a tight corner, the hair kicks out and causes your line to go fat,” he explains. Conversely, pulling long straight lines requires a thick belly to hold enough paint for 5-10 feet at a time. Brushes sizes are determined based on a number ranging from 000 upward. The number refers to the amount of hair in the brush. The bigger the number, the more hair in the brush, the more paint it holds, and vice versa.
Brush Maintenance Poor maintenance can ruin a brush. However, with the proper care, a brush will last indefinitely - or at least long enough for its owner to make a reasonable profit with it.
Like many aspects of pinstriping, the basic rule for choosing, trimming and maintaining brushes is whatever works. As one painter puts it, “Ask 10 stripers and you’ll get 11 different opinions,” Although this is true, there are several commonly agreed upon ways to ensure sword brushes have a long and prosperous life.
Brush Care Checklist Here is a good example To-Do list that works while using enamel paint for sign painter Josh Luke of Best Dressed Signs in Boston, MA: 1. Buy brush 2. Dip brush in transmission fluid (any brand will do) and make sure it gets into the ferrule. Many other types of oils work for this step as well, ranging from specifically formulated oils like Xcaliber or Sapphire to household products like Vaseline. For more information regading types of oil to store a brush in visit MACKbrush.com
More
Info
Experimentation and personal preference can dictate how you clean and store your brush. Talk to other artists and ask what they prefer. Experiment with different techniques yourself. Visit MACKbrush.com for more information on cleaning and storing brushes.
3. Rinse brush in mineral spirits and spin dry 4. Start painting! Always remember to palette out the brush. In other words get some of the paint out of the brush after dipping by stroking the edge of the paint cup or can with the bristles. 5. Clean brush with mineral spirits, spin dry 6. Dip brush back into transmission fluid (or other altnernative) 7. Store 8. repeat process
48� x 48� Enamel on Aluminum Anyday Steve Powers 2013
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When drawing stripes, both broad and f ine And what is more a double line You're never safe from a man's attack Unless your stripers come from Mack.
Winter 2014 Brian Culmo