today dawned warm and dry, so i decided it was finally time to paint my new wheels.

procedure:

• with great effort, pry off unwanted ugly plastic hubcaps.
• remove every single thing from the screen porch.
• sweep every inch of the screen porch thoroughly, including the walls and ceiling. twice.
• get a stepstool and clean years of dust off the ceiling fan in the porch.
• get hose from front yard; transfer to back. unkink hose.
• hose off entire screen porch including ceiling and walls.
• squeegee excess water off of porch floor; close door and run ceiling fan to dry.
• go out to patio and scrub down wheels with simple green and a scrubber, to get off about an inch of brake dust left by PO. bring onto now mostly dry porch and cover with sheets to keep the majority of dust off them while they dry.
• realize that i'll need to remove the lead weights and valve stems before i paint; the lead weights came right off but the valve stems basically had to be sawed off. ugh.
• line interior of screen porch with clear plastic sheeting which i have cleverly saved from my last painting project.
• clean wheels a second time, with windex and paper towels.
• lay paper dropcloth out on floor of porch.
• go over wheels with swiffer to remove all dust.
• wait a while; no more dust has settled on the wheels so it appears i've created a reasonably dust-free environment.
• read instructions for painting yet again.
• scuff wheels with #600 sandpaper
• fit respirator and attempt to wade through detailed respirator instructions
• spray first coat of primer.

that's where i am now. the primer went on strangely spotty-- i hope it doesn't have a texture when it dries. i think it'll need at least one more coat to be fully primed. the can was dripping all over the place, i have no idea why. i really really really should have worn latex gloves, and will for the rest of the project. i'll also wrap it with a rag or something. it's probaby already giving me hideous cancers.