Mar 11thFixing my work truck’s clear coat, watching paint dry, Casa Magna

In about 2010 or 11 I asked my uncle to start looking for a truck for me.  I only had a coupe sports car, which wasn’t ideal for hunting, camping, home ownership, or really anything other than spirited driving.  My uncle has a bunch of classic cars, and lives in a part of WV that has a much greater selection of trucks than can be found where I live.  My dream truck was a gen 3 K1500.  I wanted a black one, preferably an ’87, as it was the first year for fuel injection.  I don’t think Riggins drove an 87, but essentially, I was looking for something like this (last one is for the ladies/CW):

After about a year of looking, but not being able to find anything in my price range that was in decent shape, I ended up buying my uncle’s old work truck.  Its a 97 Chevy 4×4, with a crew cab, which was a custom conversion option done by Centurion.  I’ll probably do a full post on it in the future.  When I bought it, the clear coat was peeling off the top of the rear driver side pillar.  Rain got into it, made the separation bigger, then it froze, got even bigger, etc.  Eventually I was left with what you see below.  I figured it was time to do something.  I waited for the first good span of clear days on the weather report, and got to work.

Its an old truck, with a lot of dings and scrapes, so I really just wanted to arrest the problem, not put lipstick on the pig (though I do like the way she looks, perfectly worn).  I took a screwdriver to the peeling parts, then sanded the bare paint.  Then I put painters’ tape on the glass and parts I didn’t want to cover in clear coat.

I intended to only do the one pillar, but also found some potential problems on the other side, so I taped up some more.  I couldn’t resist the man-work selfie.

Once I had a coat on, it was time to watch some paint dry.  It was a mild day after a long winter.  I decided to pass the time with a Casa Magna Colorado Torito.  Very earthy, and lots of pepper.  I bought a few Casa Magnas back when it won cigar of the year.  I bought them in the winning size.  I found the cigar to be delicious, but it was just too strong for me.  This smaller version was enjoyable for me, but still fairly strong.  Its strength is about my limit.  It wasn’t quite as good as I remember, but I can’t say if that was due to the size difference, or perhaps time, or its popularity causing quality to decrease.  In any event, it was a good stick.  I didn’t buy more than one, and I don’t think I will buy another anytime soon (see what the experts think about it).

I did literally watch some paint dry.  However, what you don’t see if the two days it took me to give it several coats.  The finished product doesn’t look too bad.  The base coat bubbled up for some reason.  When I sanded, the bubbles broke, and left a bunch of silver circles.  I don’t mind the look, I just hope the clearcoat sticks.  If the paint keeps the clearcoat from being damaged further, I’ll consider this project as a success.  I think the paint (link below) was about $30, and I already had the painters’ tape.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043B7UQY/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1