Paul Comeau’s pinstriping turns everyday vehicles into rolling works of art
STORY AND PHOTOS by Sara Schafer
Some works of art hang behind glass or stretch across cathedral ceilings. Paul Comeau’s masterpieces barrel down the highway at 70 mph. With a steady hand and decades of experience, Paul creates signature designs for semitrucks, dragsters, motorcycles, helmets and more — one paint stroke at a time.
Paul’s tools are simple: a portfolio of paintbrushes, plastic cups of paint and an old magazine for a palette. On a recent rainy day, Paul’s canvas was a car hood for WayneStock, an annual car and motorcycle show in Buckner.
With a black-and-white printout of the design as a guide, Paul begins blocking in the basic shapes. Within minutes, graphic letters in vibrant green, outlined in red, take form. Intricate scrolls and lines follow, framing a simple semi driven by a crazed mouse clutching a Magic 8 Ball. Careful shading, tight details and sharp highlights bring the design to life. Every element is done by hand — no stencils, projectors or tracing.
That hands-on process carries through to his tools. Paul is quick to pull out his favorite brush. He has a ton of them but always uses the same old one. “It’s really sad when a brush dies, it’s like losing a buddy,” he says.
“What gives me such enjoyment out of my work is the instant gratification,” Paul says. “In 10 minutes, I can see what it’s going to look like.”
The First Stroke
In his mid-20s, Paul was making the rounds at a car show in his home state of Washington. One of the vendors was a pinstriper, and Paul stopped in his tracks. He became mesmerized by the craft as he watched the artist paint line after line.
Paul was working for his family’s septic business, after spending time in food service and other jobs. After clocking out each day from the family business, his focus turned to this new hobby — learning the crafts of pinstriping and airbrushing. He started practicing and adding stripes to any surface he could. “Including my washer and dryer,” says Vicki, Paul’s wife.
For six years, Paul honed his painting skills while keeping his day job. By 1993, he took a leap of faith and started his own commercial sign and vehicle graphics design business in Vancouver, Washington.
Paul’s love of cars and racing helped create an instant customer base. His fellow drag racers would bring in their cars for eye-catching designs. Then he transitioned to personalizing semis and logging trucks.
“I mostly do pinstriping and lettering, and they are all custom and hand-painted,” he says. “The projects have varied vastly, from race cars, hot rods, KitchenAid mixers and business signs to the bread and butter being semitrucks.”
As early as the 1970s and 1980s, semitruck owners would have their vehicles pinstriped and lettered to make them recognizable and showcase their personal style. Thin, hand-painted lines would be added to the truck’s hood, cab doors, fenders and along the long side of the trailer to accentuate its curves, body lines and chrome.
Paul quickly learned these designs and developed his own niche — attracting clients in Washington and neighboring states. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make a living doing it, but we kept getting busier and busier,” he says.
Move to the Midwest
In 2020, Paul and Vicki moved to Richmond to be closer to their daughter, son-in-law and grandson, and they transitioned the business to the Midwest. Paul still travels back to the state of Washington several times a year to complete work for long-time customers. He’s excited to find customers in the Show-Me State.
“Out here, pinstriping on semis is just not that big of a thing,” says Paul, a member of Farmers’ Electric Cooperative. “People just slap vinyl and go. So hopefully we can change that.”
Paul loves embarking on a new project. “Some people have a vision,” he says. “I take their ideas and try to make it to where it’s going to satisfy them and me.”
These projects can vary from a helmet featuring intricate flames to a custom business sign to a logging truck with stripes, custom logo and graphics. Beyond paint, he can apply gold or silver leafing to really make designs pop.
Pricing is case by case. “It’s so hard to put a price on this kind of work, because it’s all in the details,” Paul says. “When you put hours upon hours into the detail and make stuff look really cool then it gets more expensive.”
Paul will ask customers for their budget so he can adapt his time, materials and plan. “When I first started, I was doing $250 to $300 for almost everything,” he says. “Now I may charge $1,500 to $2,000 — for a big job. At the same time, I also used to pay $5 for a can of paint and now I pay $95.”
Steady Hands, Sharp Lines
Even after decades in the trade, Paul is still learning. “It’s been fun, interesting and hard — I can’t emphasize how hard it’s been to learn,” he says. “It took me probably five, six years to get to I where I thought, ‘OK, I’m getting better.’”
As Paul reflects on his 37 years in this unique trade, he’s proud of his contributions. “Especially in Washington and Oregon, I will see a rig coming down the road and think that looks really nice,” he says. “Then I realize I did that. You don’t want to brag on your own stuff, because then I see other stuff I did 15 years ago and it looks terrible.”
Decades after picking up his first brush, Paul has turned a niche skill into a lifelong calling. Down the road, the next truck might just be his best work yet.
For more information and photos of Paul’s work, search for Paul Comeau – Pinstriping and Lettering on Facebook. You can call the Comeaus at 360-573-2216.
Email Sara Schafer at sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop.