Hi Soren...nice to see another Assassin owner...I liked the gun-metal gray, but have a thing for all black. My black paint is also metallic, but you cannot tell from this pic. I'll try and post a better one.
No real problems so far. I found that it was difficult to get to temp initially...mostly, I am used to my Primo oval which can get to temp in about 15 minutes. Of course, that is so much smaller than the Assassin 28, so I should have figured that it would take a lot longer to get something so large up to temp. Now, I just plan on giving myself an hour from fire starting to temp. I also use the IQ120 that came with it, but I have a few other BBQ Gurus, and I might try one of those as soon as it warms up and stops raining here in Massachusetts.
As for any issues with the paint...I, too, have some paint buckling at the top of the fire box, but that was to be expected with the extreme heat. Since it is within the gasket-sealed area when the chute door is down, it doesn't really impact anything, and cannot be seen. I spoke with Jeff and Robin about it and will probably scrape/sand it down if it becomes an issue. Otherwise, no paint imperfections anywhere else. I do need to tighten a couple of the latches, but I don't have the right wrench...those are small nuts...I think 11mm. I might have to buy a new set of metric wrenches and find one to use.
There are a couple of mods I should make, and I have recommended them to Jeff. First, and most importantly, I wish there was a shut-ff valve for the grease drain. It would solve a couple of issues...first, once it is cooled-down, you can keep it closed to prevent anything from going in, or any constant dripping into a pan from left-over grease. Also, having a shut-off valve there would allow you to close the top damper, and the drain hole, and cool down the fire faster. The Oval can be shut down right away, but with the air flow from the bottom through the drain hole, it allows the fire to burn a little longer than I'm used to.
I have used both lump and Kingsford competition briquettes (which is what they recommend)...I might go back to lump in this. I add cherry or oak logs to the ash pan, give it a shake to get the embers down, and those logs or chunks start smoking right up.