When we bought the truck, it had some ugly-ass house paint on it. We didn't want a standard white truck, but we didn't know what would be the best color. I asked Brook's dad, Ed, and he said, "Hell, if it was my truck, I'd just strip it down to the aluminum and leave it like that." I said, "Crap, that's cool. Like a giant Delorean. Where are we gonna put the flux capacitor?" He didn't laugh.
To make a long, infuriating and excruciating story short, it took 10 days to take the paint off the truck. Under the house paint, there was a giant Lay's sticker that had to be peeled off. Under the sticker, there was a layer of sticky gray glue. Under the glue, another layer of paint. Under that paint, aluminum! Aluminum that had to be sanded and steel-wooled. We went through 15 gallons of paint remover. That stuff burns like hell, especially in sensitive areas. But I don't want to get into the details of why I know that.
A bunch of friends and family came out to help with the process, but Ed was the man. We'd show up in the morning, and he'd already be going whilst rocking out to K-Earth. Man, we listened to a lot of K-Earth. I think they played "Brandy" four times a day. But not this slick version with ukulele and upright bass.
Anyway, Ed's the hardest-working old guy ever. I owe him big-time, so I promise that if he ever buys a catering truck, I'll be there to help him take the paint off it.
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