Saturday, February 14, 2015

"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." - Albert Einstein

I thoroughly disagree with the implications of that Einstein quote (that there is some kind of invisible force behind love), but hey, it's Valentines Day and something about love seemed necessary.
Nobody falls in love. They jump. Or more typically walk into it one incremental step at a time. That's why it's entirely B O G U S when a spouse says they've fallen out of love with the person to whom they promised "until death do us part" and have fallen in love with someone else. They took specific steps that led to both outcomes; it is a mess of their own making. And it is a mess, too often of the worst sort for the people left to deal with their selfishness.

Today I painted. I started about 9:00 when the temp was creeping up toward 70 and the wind calm. The parts list included rear (bed) fender wells, cowl vent, hood braces and door panels. But here are pics of the progression all parts went through using the hood and wheels as examples.

The hood started out primed and sanded to 320 grit. The wheels had
been recently painted black so I just scuffed and cleaned them. Because I didn't want to pay to have the tires taken off and put back on (plus balancing and stems) I taped them off. Boy was that fun!

First step is a two part sealer that's supposed to keep anything (like
black paint) from bleeding through. Alas, I got some runs in the hood I had to sand out.

Then comes 2-3 coats of color, depending on the part and how the
first one went. The hood got three on the top side and two underneath...and more runs. Aargh. I shouldn't do this for a living.


Finally, 2-3 coats of clear, again depending on the surface. No pics (contain your disappointment) because all the clear does is protect the color and give it a gloss finish that wouldn't show up in these pics.

I finished everything including clean-up at 3:30. Bushed! That's stressful work for me because I'm such a novice. Nothing from mixing to spraying is in my comfort zone.
I've got some wet sanding to do to get rid of runs and some will just have to be part of the truck's character. Anyone who points out a flaw will find themselves missing one or more digits and/or receive an invitation to do the whole thing over for me.

The rest of the day was spent unwinding, watching the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and getting things in order for tomorrow. No, we're not going out for V-Day. No need. Just as in love at home and it's a lot easier and cheaper.


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