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Schwinn pin striping

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Ron

Finally riding a big boys bike
How did Schwinn do the Pin Striping on bikes in the 50's and 60's?
Not decals and not hand painted right?
 
All of the 50s lightweights I have have hand painted striping. This would include fork, guard and frame striping. As you move into the 60s it looks like previously hand painted striping like fork darts moved to decals as they scaled up production. They also seem to do away with any hand painted striping on guards and frames (I am speaking specifically to lightweights like travelers, racers, etc). The high end bikes like paramounts still had hand striping.

How they did it? I would think all part of the assembly line. There were stations were workers only did striping. If I remember correctly I thought I saw a video (image?) showing someone back in the day striping as parts moved a long. Correct me if I am wrong. ??

They could have also screen printed some striping like the fork darts?? (somewhat flat surface, curved/rounded surfaces are much hard to do that on).
 
All of the 50s lightweights I have have hand painted striping. This would include fork, guard and frame striping. As you move into the 60s it looks like previously hand painted striping like fork darts moved to decals as they scaled up production. They also seem to do away with any hand painted striping on guards and frames (I am speaking specifically to lightweights like travelers, racers, etc). The high end bikes like paramounts still had hand striping.

How they did it? Assembly line. There were stations were workers only did striping. If I remember correctly I saw a video showing someone back in the day striping very quickly as parts moved a long. Correct me if I am wrong.
Thank you for the information. To me, it looks like some type of heat shrink or baked on decal. I have no idea. I'm going to have a 62 Typhoon professionally repainted one of these days. Just curious.
Thanks again
 
The last of what look to be hand painted pinstriping on my bikes ended as you moved from 50s to 60s. Everything after that either lost striping in those areas or they went to water transfer decal.

Also for things like the striping on the fender, I don't think there was any way around that and it had to be hand striped even in the 60s.
 
I know they had two women in the Paramount cage that did all the striping and lug-lining, when they retired so did most of the striping. Some of the fine line spagetti striping and box striping that they did is nearly impossible to replicate correctly today unless you can find a extremely talented auto pin-striper.
The guy that did my, and all the dealers in the area, BMW tank stripes, freehand, would not attempt them.
 
Thank you for the information. To me, it looks like some type of heat shrink or baked on decal. I have no idea. I'm going to have a 62 Typhoon professionally repainted one of these days. Just curious.
Thanks again
Your '62 Typhoon would have painted fenders I think the pinstripe that was done with a fixed pin stripe machine that each fender was fed through I could be wrong. The only way to duplicate that would be hand painted unless one had a striping machine. The Chain guard would have been screen painted, all other decals would have been water slides. I believe all of what you need is reproduced check bicycle bones on the ebay. They make a water slide for the chain guard so you do not have to screen it. Good luck
 
I'm speculating, but they may have used a Beugler type pinstriping device. I've noticed some residual paint lines on the inside of some painted/striped fenders I've had in the past, showing where something drug the paint across the surface. Most of the fork darts I've come across, post 1959, appear to be screened on the surface.
 
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Aparently these were fixtures used in the Schwinn Factory, "paint masks" I've seen them called.
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I can't seem to find a picture of the headligh one...

The paint remnants under the fenders...I always assumed that was from them being stacked together before they were completely dry.
 
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