Bob Bond doesn’t mind when people call...

Bob Bond doesn’t mind when people call him a pinhead. In fact, he encourages it. The odd nickname identifies him as a proud practitioner of automotive pinstriping, a painstaking art form of which the 47-year-old Sylmar resident is one of the nation’s best-known proponents.

For three decades, Bond has customized vehicles with fine lines, swirls, initials and cartoon-style graphics. His handiwork adorns television news crew vans, limousines, luxury sports cars, vintage street rods and 18-wheel trucks. He decorated golf carts for Bob Hope and Bing Crosby and the Batmobile for Bruce Wayne.

Pinstriping was practiced on carriages as far back as the 12th century, Bond says. The 1980s advent of smaller cars with fewer distinct lines, however, decreased demand for his artistry. Recently, though, pinstriping has seen a resurgence. Next month, his work will be featured in a Melrose Avenue gallery as part of an exhibit on the craft.