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9/03/25: It's been a long while since I've updated anyone on the truck project, and for good reason! This summer, and really the first half of the year, proved to be an unexpected series of... well, life happening.

The most recent curveball was my wife's knee replacement about six weeks ago. Since then and several months before, I've been on full-time duty as chief cook, bottle washer, shopper, housekeeper, laundry attendant, and nursemaid. It's been a busy but necessary role, one that I gladly fulfill but forcing the project to take a complete back seat.

Prior to that, the first half of the year was completely consumed by selling our second home in South Carolina. This involved everything from preparing the house for sale, navigating the selling process, clearing it out, and then transporting the items we wanted to keep back home, while finding new homes for everything else we couldn't take. It was a massive undertaking that pretty much occupied all my spare time and energy.

But, I'm finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm itching to get back to the truck. My immediate goal is to get the cab painted before the really cold weather sets in. To do that, I'm planning to set up a temporary paint booth in the garage to extend my painting season.

That plan hit a snag initially because the garage had become the repository for all the belongings and family heirlooms we passed down to the kids and grandkids. After several three-hour trips downstate, I'm thrilled to report that the last of those items have finally left the garage! However, there's still a massive cleanup ahead – think overspray and sanding/grinding dust everywhere from bodywork last fall. My strategy is to erect a temporary party tent just outside the garage. This will allow me to do the final block sanding and apply the epoxy seal coat outdoors while I tackle the big cleanup inside and set up the temporary paint booth.

On the equipment front, my trusty old Sears compressor, which has served me faithfully since 1977, just isn't up for the task of modern paint application. With the cost of paint these days, I'm not taking any chances, so a new, more capable compressor is definitely on the shopping list.

Then there's the paint itself. We settled on Washington Blue, but finding a jobber who can mix it has been incredibly challenging. I did a ton of research and gathered a lot of paint codes from different manufacturers, but most have gone by the wayside due to new low VOC regulations. It was recommended that a 1988 Isuzu Cavalier blue was a close match. My local auto body supply mixed up a spray can for me to do a spray out, but it turned out way too dark – not what we envisioned at all.

Today, however, I had a breakthrough! I took a trip to Albany and found an auto body supplier who was able to use the original color code and mixed up a 4-ounce sample. The sample looked really promising, so I had him put it into a 2K spray can so I can do a proper spray out. The catch with 2K, as you know, is that once you release the activator, you only have about an 8-hour pot life.

Rather than just doing a small spray out and effectively 'wasting' $35 worth of paint, my plan is to paint my dash and whatever else I can get to in the interior with this sample. Even if it doesn't turn out to be the exact final color, it will still act as an excellent base coat, meaning less paint will be needed later, and it won't go to waste.

So, that's where things stand! It feels good to finally be making tangible plans again. I'm really looking forward to getting some significant progress done before the snow flies. I'll keep you posted as things develop!