Painting Windshield wiper arms and restoring black trim

T

tomstin

New member
I just picked up a 94 Honda Accord for my son. The car is in amazing shape for it's age. It was garage kept and the owner did a nice job of caring for the exterior paint, but ignored the black trim and door jams.



So, first question, I need to repaint the windshield wiper arms and need a recommendation on what type of paint to use. It's sure not flat, but also not high gloss. Any experience?



Next, the black trim in the cowl and on the doors around the windows. These areas are real chalky. What can I use to clean them up and ready for wax?



I about drove my son nuts yesterday. I pulled each wheel to inspect the brakes and suspension components (needs front brakes). Pulled a plug to inspect. Crawled all around the engine compartment, then spent an hour cleaning under the hood! Then washed, #9 and the Wolfgang twins. I must have spent an hour on the door and trunk lid jams alone. Six hours in all. He got a look at how anal I can be...LOL!!!!
 
If you are talking about the B-pillars between the front and rear windows, AIO will work wonders. Do AIOx2 and follow with periodic SG coats. If you are talking about rubberized or plastic trim, I would go with VM. If it is strictly plastic trim, try some Back In Black first, then top with VM.



With the wiper question, I also eagerly await the answer.
 
SEM makes a nice semi-gloss black that I have used on Honda wiper arms in the past. I have used it on other trim pieces on other cars with good results. You can usually find it in a specialty automotive paint shop. They make a variety of trim and bumper paints that work well, especially for those older cars that all seem to use a different shade of black/gray for trim and bumper pieces.



Use a red scotchbrite pad to scuff up the surface (remove the blade!), and if there is any chance you have wax/sealer/Rain-X on the arm, use a wax and grease remover. Two or three light coats work well.
 
As far as the wiper arms go, I would recommend you find an aluminum "friendly" primer to apply first (after sanding, of course). I've used various black flats and semi-glosses, but most don't seem to bond very well, and the arms lose spots here and there over a few years time.
 
I did my wiper arms with Rustoleum "BBQ Grille" black paint. Didn't require sanding, priming, or much more than a regular cleaning. Just rolled it on with a mini roller. It has lasted 2 years without any degradation. Nice dark black with mild gloss, and resistant to the heat of hot sunny days.



For the trim and wiper cowl, I've always had luck with Meguiars Gold Class Trim Detailer (although it gets less than sterling reviews from some others on this board). Mothers Back to Black is good for cleaning, but never really gave me the rich color or lasting protection that I like.
 
"I about drove my son nuts yesterday. I pulled each wheel to inspect the brakes and suspension components (needs front brakes). Pulled a plug to inspect. Crawled all around the engine compartment, then spent an hour cleaning under the hood! Then washed, #9 and the Wolfgang twins. I must have spent an hour on the door and trunk lid jams alone. Six hours in all. He got a look at how anal I can be...LOL!!!!"





Let me get this straight. You bought a car for your son, and YOU'RE the one doing the clean up and painting?:nono



Has he recently broken his arms?
 
Over here in England you can get matt black paint which is a spot on match,when you come round to spray it hang it on a washing line so you can spray evenly and all round,do several thin coats and treat your Sons car to a set of new blades as the newly painted arms are bound to make the blades look shabby.
 
dgraupman "Let me get this straight. You bought a car for your son, and YOU'RE the one doing the clean up and painting?"



Guilty as charged! However, in my defense, it is MY car, I will be driving it back and forth to work for then next several weeks to shake it out until he's on his own with his full license. I needed to check it out for my piece of mind, and I HATE a dirty car. So, as long as my name is on the title, and worry about him making it to and fro, I'll maintain the car.



I see it as peace of mind and a small price to pay. The deal I have with both kids is; grades first, club ball second (that's where I write the checks) and school sports after those. He plays three sports at school, club soccer year round and is an A student (summer job to come). As long as he holds that up, I take care of the car to MY standards!
 
nwf_snake said:
SEM makes a nice semi-gloss black that I have used on Honda wiper arms in the past. I have used it on other trim pieces on other cars with good results. You can usually find it in a specialty automotive paint shop. They make a variety of trim and bumper paints that work well, especially for those older cars that all seem to use a different shade of black/gray for trim and bumper pieces.



Use a red scotchbrite pad to scuff up the surface (remove the blade!), and if there is any chance you have wax/sealer/Rain-X on the arm, use a wax and grease remover. Two or three light coats work well.
Click to expand...



I will second the SEM paint. I too own a 94 Accord and just painted the wipers with the SEM trim paint about a month ago. It came out perfect.



The part # is 39143 trim black.
 
Well, Jim beat me to the BBQ paint suggestion. I know at Miata.net that's a favorite. However, my 11 yr old car recently got the wiper arms repainted with the flat black they sell for doing camoflage paint treatments.



Check the air in the spare too. :)
 
tomstin said:
dgraupman "Let me get this straight. You bought a car for your son, and YOU'RE the one doing the clean up and painting?"



Guilty as charged! However, in my defense, it is MY car, I will be driving it back and forth to work for then next several weeks to shake it out until he's on his own with his full license. I needed to check it out for my piece of mind, and I HATE a dirty car. So, as long as my name is on the title, and worry about him making it to and fro, I'll maintain the car.



I see it as peace of mind and a small price to pay. The deal I have with both kids is; grades first, club ball second (that's where I write the checks) and school sports after those. He plays three sports at school, club soccer year round and is an A student (summer job to come). As long as he holds that up, I take care of the car to MY standards!
Click to expand...



tomstin - sorry, sounds like you've got a good plan there. The situation I was remembering as a kid is a bit different that what you presently have. My dad provided me with a beater (orange Datsun B-210), and I was expected to do all the washing and routine maintenance. It's really the point in time I can look back and say I became interested in clean cars and getting familiar with what was under the hood. I'm still just a hack weekend mechanic today, but I was inspired from that first experience with a car when I knew nothing and had to figure out how things worked. Dawn wasn't just for dishes then, and old t-shirts took off the turtle wax!:D
 
luvthong--That's the stuff, but I used the brush on with a small paint roller. (See where it notes "all colors available in half-pint and quart brush on.") That way there was no need to take them off or mask for spraying.
 
For painting wiper arms use Krylon semi-flat spray can paint it will look like new. For painting anything that has to be semi-flat use Krylon. For other spray can detailing also try their flat black,gloss black and dull aluminum.
 
For the wiper arms I'll suggest something a little different. Slide the arm through some black heatshrink tubing and shrink it. Polyolefin tubing would have great resistance to oils, weather and UV.
 
if you are going to paint the wiper arms while they are still on the car, here is a tip...



turn the car on, start the wipers, and when they are half way up the windshield, turn the car off. The position that they are now it would probably be an easier place to paint them at.



And remember: thin coats = good. Unless you like orange peel.
 
BTW, I've had two Honda Accords. Both had the same problem. The black wore off the wipers and I got annoying reflections off the unpainted wiper arms. That seems to be a problem with Honda products in general.
 
I apologize in advance for no pictures, the sky opened up as soon as I got the car back together. The SEM Black Trim paint is the perfect match for the wiper arms. I found a local automotive paint supplier that carries that line. I also used MPPC on the pilar between the front and rear doors along with the cowl to remove the oxidation. I'm very happy with the results.



Thanks for the help and suggestions.
 
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