The frustrating thing about car bodywork is that there is one way to do it right, and about twelve hundred ways to do it wrong. I removed the ugly pinstripes from the Supra this evening, picking away at them with my fingernails until it dawned on me that a razor blade, set at exactly the right angle, would peel them off perfectly and not harm the clearcoat underneath. Of course, this left the nasty adhesive still on the paint, which I was attempting unsuccessfully to remove with rubbing compound when my very thoughtful neighbor suggested acetone, which, as it turned out, worked flawlessly. So the car is smooth now, or, to use the French word, “lisse,” which sounds much better.
I’m getting my first performance part for the car soon, too. Not much, but a stepping stone to much larger and more powerful arenas. I’ve budgeted a “car allowance” every month so I don’t go overboard and I can still save. Gotta keep things in perspective.
The evening was cool and perfect. I spent most of it outside, as the breeze was soothing and the water in the pool still warm. The moon’s orb was an apparition as I walked to the gym… A crescent was illuminated by the sun, but the evening sky was still lighter than the larger, dark portion of the moon. As a result the moon could be seen in its entirety, with a sliver lit by the sun, flanked by bright evening stars and light wisps of clouds… I observed the evening artistry for a good bit as the breeze ruffled the dark silhouettes of the palm trees.