Russ:
i am envious, I can't paint at home because my mother-in-law cannot deal with it, she is very frail, pushing 90.
That flat-bed chassis looks great.
i was going through a tractor trailer exam at the truck school, and my instructor was talking to me and giving me instructions. he was sipping a coffee and kept resting it on the end of the flat-bed between barks.
i went up and down the flat bed, inspecting, as he checked off his big list with his stoney grimmace. They had a few items rigged to be loose just to fool us.
i get everything right as i walk down inspecting the trailer. I walk up to that bastige, and he has this big smirk on his face. Before he can say anything, I tell him 'we're not going anywhere until that coffee cup is off the back of the trailer'......ruined his day.....lol......
Layering those colours like that is great. There are no solid colors in real life except for brannew stuff. You can use that misting technique to sneak in weathering too, local soil dust, especially around the wheel bays, i dunno, those leaf springs might have a tiny bit of rust or separation, especially around the bands. A smear of dark red sludge and wipe them off to separate the leaves, that'll will make them pop, if you like that look.
Anywhere the paint gets scratched, the rust starts, I wasn't there, so i have no idea how fast rust formed on exposed steel in Vietnam, it's a given up here in Canada. Grit is good, unless you guys cleaned all the rigs daily or so.
The paint looks great so far, I'm looking forward to the rest of that build Russ.