Model Car Culture Podcast · Scale Riders

Mercado's Pinstriping

·1 hr 13 min·4 clips

Mercado names his Riviera When the Music is Over after the 27 Club and says the club wanted him to change it.

1. Model Car Culture Podcast episode 268 centers on Jonathan Mercado and his pinstriping and custom-paint work on a 1963 Buick Riviera called When the Music is Over. 2. Jonathan Mercado is the guest, and the host introduces him as a custom painter, pinstripe artist, instructor, and scale model car builder whose work connects to Sal Manzano, Walt Prey, Bill Carter, Danny D, and Mario Gomez. 3. The episode asks how Mercado built a pinstriping career, how he learned from older painters, and how his Riviera became a Lifestyle Car Club show car. 4. Mercado says pinstriping first stood out to him as a kid because it made cars look different, while his drawing background and model-car hobby gave him a starting point. 5. He says he bought a can of OneShot and some brushes, practiced on his own, and landed his first chance to pinstripe a car around his senior year of high school in 2009. 6. Mercado says his early education came from videos, early YouTube, and local names like Manuel Cisneros after he returned to San Diego from North Carolina. 7. He describes panel jams as places where pinstripers swapped pieces, learned from each other, and built relationships that never started as full-time job opportunities. 8. Mercado says Cisneros pushed him hard at first, which he credits for improving his straight lines, curves, and scrolling work. 9. He says body shops hired him to outline graphics and patterns because many painters can paint but fewer can pinstripe. 10. Mercado says urethane is his preferred pinstriping paint because it dries faster and is less likely to wrinkle after clearcoat. 11. He says good bodywork matters before any stripe or paint job, because hidden damage can bubble, crack, or react later. 12. Mercado says he protects himself by inspecting jobs carefully and turning away work when he can already see a future headache. 13. He says the Riviera’s name came from his interest in The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the 27 Club documentary. 14. He says the club first pushed back on the long name, then accepted it after he explained the planned mural of famous 27 Club members. 15. Mercado says the Riviera’s paint work was one of his hardest jobs because he was painting his own car and wanted it accepted by Lifestyle Car Club. 16. He says he stripped and restarted the roof more than once, and he rejected Sal’s pink-and-magenta version because he wanted blue tones only. 17. Mercado says the build slowed when the original engine blew up during the pandemic, which forced him to choose between rebuilding and an LS swap. 18. He says he chose the LS route, then molded the firewall, wheel wells, hood, and trunk before repainting the interior areas to match the outside. 19. The episode stays conversational and practical, with the host asking follow-ups about process, pressure, and how Mercado kept working while taking customer jobs. 20. Listeners who like lowriders, pinstriping, and shop-level paint details will get the most from this conversation, while people looking for a short casual recap of car culture may skip it.

As heard by us

A close look at a custom Riviera, its name, and the rebuild choices that followed a failed motor.

Jonathan Mercado's return centers on hobby talk that feels grounded and easy to picture. His 1963 Buick Riviera lowrider, When the Music is Over, carries the conversation from its name and the 27 Club connection to the planned mural and the rebuild decisions that came after the…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a lowrider build story with real paint, mural, and engine-swap detail.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Model Car Culture Podcast