General P.I.T.A. but SO worth it.

You're accused of a mid-life crisis...

I never understood why someone would consider a new hobby or a new challenge in life a crisis. IMHO, this is averting a crisis.
First of all, nice work on that dash piece. I have found that a fine tip silver paint pen works quite well.
So you have been accused of having a Midlife Crisis??? I call BULLCRAP on that. By definition, a crisis is something bad. @CFD244 beat me to saying that getting a new hobby/project car is averting a crisis. In my opinion, a Midlife crisis would be to NOT do something you really want to do. Then, when you are 85, you will be sadly lamenting over your failure to act 30 years ago. I am 73. I have known several people who retired and watched TV all day. They got fat and wheelchair bound, wound up in a nursing home or died. I am super busy with all my hobbies. I love to work on cars, I can do heavy rust repair, I do paint and body, I can rebuild engines and transmissions, I can do interior work, I run a small powder coating business out of my garage and I like doing things around the house. Go for it, @nodemon.