Chapter 71 - CH 70 - The Patina of Progress

The decision to clear-coat the Gullwing's bare aluminum skin was not merely an aesthetic choice; it was a declaration of principles that reverberated through every subsequent decision, a philosophical earthquake whose aftershocks realigned their entire approach to the craft. It established a new, uncompromising standard of honesty, one that demanded every component, every system, every minute detail be treated not as something to be hidden, disguised, or returned to a state of sterile, factory-fresh perfection, but as an integral, living part of a beautiful, functional, and historically resonant whole. The shop, in response, entered its most technically demanding, intellectually rigorous, and philosophically coherent phase yet, a period where every action was subjected to a simple, profound question: does this honor the truth of the object?