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11/19/25: I officially had "cut and buff" day a few days ago, and while it was productive overall, it definitely threw a few curveballs my way.

My main goal was to knock out a couple of pesky runs around the rear window openings before I reinstalled the glass. Naturally, things didn't quite go as smoothly as I'd hoped. Upon a closer inspection, those two runs seemed to mysteriously multiply. I spent a good, chunk of time meticulously sanding them down, and I actually managed to successfully remove all but the original two I started with – wouldn't you know it, those are the critical ones for reinstalling the rear glass!

As I really got into those two problem areas, I discovered a new challenge. The runs underneath were quite porous, so the more I sanded, the more little pock marks started to appear, like tiny craters. To make matters worse, one of these spots didn't have quite enough paint to begin with, so I sanded right through to the lighter primer underneath. So, a spot repair is definitely in order before those windows go in. My plan is to warm up the garage to at least 60 degrees, then bake the repair with a propane heater to help it cure properly. I've ordered a can of Spray Max 1k Spot Blender, which should arrive on Friday, so hopefully, I can tackle that this weekend.

On a much happier note regarding the paint, there was one area I was genuinely worried about – the passenger side cab corner. I'd accidentally brushed my air hose against it during painting, so I'd shot some additional paint on that area, hoping it would give me more material to sand out. Well, I'm thrilled to report it came out near perfect! That was a huge relief and definitely a win for the paint job.

Beyond the paint drama, I've had a really productive few days getting some other stuff installed. I managed to get the firewall padding and its cover in place, laid down the floor mat, and installed the sound deadening pads on the ceiling. The windshield wiper assembly is now installed, the gas pedal is in, and I even got the cowl vent attached. It's great to see these major pieces finding their homes.

Despite the minor paint setback, things are really starting to come together quite nicely!