smooth gray patina" is just oxidized filler, not paint.

That Phoenix lot story is the whole problem in a nutshell. That $650 quote was never a real truck, it was a broker who sold your load to whoever would take the least. Ask if they own the truck before you pay a dime.

Saw a woodworking forum post about this once where a guy used a french cleat wall with color coded bins for all his router bits, said it saved his ass on a remodel. Color coding is honestly the move, your brain just zones in on "blue = 45 degree stuff" way faster than reading labels.