My Life, Captured in Paint

So, I've been busy lately with a little project that is now just about finished. I have been into car repair and engine rebuilding for years now, but have never really tried my hand at painting or bodywork. Well my friends, all that has changed and this morning something occurred to me as I was trying in vain to fix a mistake that can't be fixed without starting over again. Which means that the hood of my car is on "do-over" status.

Still, all in all, I was very surprised at the result of this little experiment. Except for a few little blemishes that were all the result of my impatience to get this over with, the overall appearance of the paintjob is as good or better than the "factory paint" and cost me a total of about $70. But all this is kind of beside the point.

Because as I was looking at the car, I realized a couple of things. The first was that it looks about a thousand times better than it did before I painted it. The second thought, which came immediately on the heels of the first, was that despite how much better the car looks than it did before, my gaze still kept being drawn to the little flaws that I had created in my haste. Despite the shine and glasslike clear coat that you can see the depth of, it is those flaws that draw the attention. In fact, the rest of the paint job, by virtue of it's brilliant luster, seems to do nothing but serve as a backdrop, almost a catalyst, to propel those few flaws into the sight of whoever happens to look at the car.

And looking at the paint, I finally noticed my reflection staring back at me from within it's shining surface.