Return of Dirty Santa
Last night we had a wild and crazy Christmas party for the folks Ginger works with. The dirty Santa game was especially enjoyable. I got a brown candle shaped like a maple leaf with a cinnamon scent. I scent it home with one of our guests.

Can You Hum a Few Bars?
That reminds me of something I said today. Troy, David, and I were driving back from lunch when I spotted a big SUV. I said, "That guy must not know the words, because he is driving a Hummer." Ha! That is when I was asked to get out of the car.

72 GMC Update
Regarding the truck frame: The first coat of paint had quite a few bubbles in it so the texture is not as smooth as I would have liked. Por, Por, me. I guess I will have to sand out the rough spots. I was planning on putting two coats of paint on but now I am thinking 3 to 4. I ordered some PRO-15 solvent to thin the paint with. I hope this will give me a smoother finish. Stay tuned.

I tried a few methods of applying the POR-15.

1) A foam roller. This was a bad idea. It introduced many bubbles to the surface. I think it was also putting on too much paint.
2) Brush with nylon bristles - I don't recall why I didn't like this approach.
3) Brush with natural brisles - This looked good but my brush kept losing bristles so I discontinued using it. I didn't want to have to deal with picking out the loose bristles from the wet paint.
4) Foam brush - This worked well in the corners though again I was applying too much paint at times.

When looking at the non-smooth finish on the frame yesterday afternoon, I had a bit of deja vu. Back when I was finishing the cherry bed I made for Brianna, I had a similar bubble/texture problem. Again I was using a foam brush but I think the problem was more viscosity and applying too much. It didn't occur to me at the time to thin the poly. The solution I had back then was to apply the polyurethane with a lint free cloth instead of a brush. I may give lint free cloth a try again, but first I will thin the POR-15.

The lint free clothes I used last time where the Scott's Rag in a Box. A great thing about this approach is no brush clean up. Just toss them in the trash. I admit this is only a minor convenience. The only drawback I can think of is that each coat is very thin so you may have to apply several coats more than you intended to get the protection you desire.

For the record, it looks like one quart of POR-15 will cover the frame with just a little bit left over. I plan to paint the frame, the rear axle, the drive shaft, and the bottom of the cab with POR-15. If I stick with a steel bed floor I will paint the bottom of it as well though I am leaning towards a wood bed floor.

Also for the record, I wore a respirator while using the POR-15. If you use this stuff, follow the direction and protect your lungs.

Other notes: I used the Marine clean product to degrease the frame, the Metal Ready to prep the surface and I had the temperature in the garage between 70 - 75 degrees F.