"An escalator can never break, it can only become stairs." - Mitch Hedberg

I'm now doing this wound dressing the way the surgeon's office said it should be done, not the way the dermatologist said. This is MUCH easier to change and to live with. And I'm almost used to looking at the gross hole in my cheek.
The surgeon's office called today to say they're trying to get me on the schedule for next Friday, because if it doesn't happen then it waits until December. The latest problem is that I have a pacemaker and a stent, so the anesthesiologist doesn't want to do it at their surgery center; he wants to be in a hospital. So now they also have to work with O.R. availability.

OK, enough of that. Here's how I spent 8 hours today:
I started with the cab of the truck in primer (the gray). The black areas are those that either don't get painted or don't need to be body panel smooth, like the firewall.

 After getting everything set up so things were where I needed them I sprayed every surface with a sealer. It's a thin layer that prevents any bleed-through of the layers below it. That process went OK except that I got a few runs I had to sand out.

Then the pressure hit: color coat. First was the Ivory, which isn't really off-white like you'd think, but more of a cream with a hint of green. It calls for "two coats or coverage" and I did three. Then two hours of taping and masking so I could paint the Frontier Beige. Again, three coats. And after that, three coats of clear. That's a 2-part coating that is very thin, light. As a result I have some runs I will very carefully sand out after it's fully cured. I also have a couple of spots I need to re-shoot with the Ivory because they somehow got smudged. I'll do them when I paint another of the body panels; no big deal.

This is a factory correct color scheme for a '59 truck, though not what this truck wore coming out of the factory. I'm pleased with the way it turned out, especially for my first attempt. I'll fix those areas and ignore the one I can't fix which, thankfully, is hidden by the front of the bed when it's installed.

It was stressful, but at the end of the day I feel good about how I did. And the important thing is I did it. Per my friend Jim's suggestion, I'll be getting a window sticker that says, "Built, not bought."