My HOT PINK Work Truck

Do you know how people sometimes ask how you've been and don't really want a real answer? We'll I'm gonna take that a step further and tell you without having anyone around to ask me. So here it all started.... My truck had an ugly white stripe on it and lots of rust. So I innocently decided one day I would cutout and bondo the rust holes, and scrape off the super reflective stripe, NOTHING MORE. Weeks later with blisters on my hands, I was left with a scratched up and patchwork quilt looking Conservation Department reject. So I once again made an uneducated decision and decided I would throw some paint on it. Ever since I have been on a long slow journey. At first I really had no concern whatsoever about how it looked when it was done, but I decided to paint the top black and the bottom deep red just for kicks. I sanded for several evenings, and taped it up for the Rustoleum priming. Well after I learned how terribly long it takes to tape up a truck, and how painful them little buttons on the spray paint can get, I decided to throw out the "cheap" "who really cares how it looks in the end" attitude, and dug out my spray gun from deep within my piles of stored away extra tools. So weeks once again drag on, and I drive around with a black top, sanded green passengers side, brown primer drivers side, and a very patchy looking red tail gate (Pro car paint.... OOOO :) $8 a can and the tailgate took 2 cans and still looked awful funny.) So last night I decided that something had to be done soon, or I would just get so used of it that I wouldn't even remember that I was planning on the bottom being one solid color. So I rushed to Rome, found the Deep Dark Red I really wanted and the guy talked me out of it and into another "dark" red. I thought the paint looked a little "fishy" but I bought it just to make him feel good about saving me 2 dollars. So I get home and decided I better dab a little on the fender to dry overnight before I trust that paint. Well, in the morning I wasn't surprised one bit to see a dark pink instead of red on my truck. So I wait until they open at 8, go back to Rome with the intentions of exchanging his pink paint for my red. The woman there informed me that paint was not returnable, I informed her that it was, and eventually we grew to see things eye to eye. So I finally left the store with my deep, dark, red expensive paint. When I finally got home, it took me half the day to get the truck all taped up again.

It is 3:00, I pour some paint unto the sprayers canister and pour in some paint thinner to thin it down for painting. JUST LIKE THE MAN THE NIGHT BEFORE TOLD ME TOO :). My precious paint will not mix with the thinner, I stir and stir, until it becomes a big useless glob of Jello. Ut Oh :(. I call the store, You used what!!! She says, you need a special paint conditioner to thin that paint... OK. So my truck is covered with taped on newspapers, and I am running out of time, money, patience, and paint. I knew one thing for sure, I was NOT taking them papers off to go back to Rome AGAIN. So my mother was happy to let me ride out there with her. But First.... The neighbors little grandson came running through the field over to us, the bus dropped him off and his grandmother was not coming to the door. The poor little guy was so worried, because she has cancer and he thought the worst. So we run over there, call the house, pound on the door, rap on the windows, nothing. After about an hour of this, just about as I surrendered to the idea of possibly prying a window open to get in and see if she was ok or just sleeping, his mother pulls in the driveway. It turns out that she forgot to tell her mom that Dustin would be dropped off there that afternoon, and his grandma wasn't home after all. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized how close I came to "breaking and entering :)." So then she continued to talk as the sun dropped ever lower in the sky, we  apparently had alot of catching up on.... LOL. At least 5:00, we finally leave for Rome. The man from the night before is quite irritated with me that I don't like his choice of colors, and begrudgingly gets me another can of that Deep, Dark, Red. He has no idea what the other woman was talking about as "conditioner," and tells me to use water. After his advice about using paint thinner, I am sorta skeptical but I don't know of anything else I could possibly do, so I once again fork out the money and we rush home again. It turns out, that neither my spray gun nor my fathers wants to spray anything but air. So I tear dads totally apart and clean every little bit, nothing. Do the same with mine, and finally find the plugged up part. I hurriedly glance at the sun, run to the truck and start spraying on the "liquid gold." A thin insignificant mist comes out, determined that it will just have to do, I continue until it actually finally sorta worked right about 15min's later. But there is one "little" issue... It is a VERY hot pink color.

Not the deep red I bought :(. So I wish I had just stuck with the regular pink color, but at this point I figure that my truck is just destine to be pink, and continue laying it on, wondering if I will ever have the courage to drive again. "Real men drive Hot pink trucks" I tell myself over and over and over, not completely convinced yet. After what seemed a life time, it looked just sorta pink, and then dryed into a KINDA deep red. Not Dark, Deep. 4 coats later i ran out of paint, and felt much better about my last 24 hours. Now I just eventually need to re-paint the top with the better black paint I have, instead of that patchy black spray can job :) clear coat it, and then finally, I'll do the part I'm looking forward to. For the last year or so I've kept watch and noticed that nobody at all that I have seen has gold trim.

Just chrome, here a chrome, there a chrome, everywhere a chrome chrome. So all "chrome" will be shiny gold! :) Hurray!! Along with a thin gold stripe between the black and red, and a gold business logo on my doors and tailgate. That will be just peachy :)! Its still wont be perfect, but maybe people will stop asking if I work for the D.E.C. I have never been much of a "Motorized Vehicle" lover, but I occasionally feign interest, ;). I've never really felt comfortable owning anything that I didn't build myself, and a truck is a little beyond my aspirations. I'm sure I could do it! ;) but I probably wont, lol. But I gotta say, painting it kinda sorta makes me feel a little tiny bit better deep down inside :)  

At least I am not rebuilding my entire truck like this guy in the background. His Ranger is "Build BOARD Tough!!)  It was a 4x4 but he's making it look more like a 2x4 ;)    

I considered Lime Green trim instead of gold... ;)

Smile and say CHEESE!!

Laying on the trampoline,a popular late afternoon activity commonly enjoyed by many ISFP's ;)