Hey, I just wanted to post up my results with painting my wiper arms and cowl. I didn't want to just buy the cheap Walmart or Autozone paint that wouldn't last real long, I wanted to get a quality paint that would last long. I contemplated powder coating the pieces, but there are some plastic pieces on them so this was not a real option. I went to a local automotive paint store and bought SEM Trim Black (39143), a can of SEM XXX Adhesion Promoter, and a grey scuff pad. I took the wipers off and prepped them like they told me to do at the paint store.
1. Wash good and dry
2. Scuff with grey scuff pad
3. I taped of the rubber part on the rear wiper and put tape in the splines on the wipers so they don't get covered in paint
4. Wipe down with Rubbing Alcohol and wipe it off quickly with a dry cloth to make sure you are removing any grease or dirt
5. Paint them (no need for the adhesion promoter or primer unless there is no paint left at all)
I was not happy with the results with the SEM Trim Black on the wipers. It came out very spotty and completely flat. It looked almost grey because it had no shine to it at all. I chose not to paint the cowl with this, and went back to get a different product to do the wipers with again and the cowl.
This time I bought SEM Bumper Coater Honda Black (39293). The prep was almost the same except I didn't wash them this time. I just scuffed them again, wiped with rubbing alcohol, and painted. From the start I could tell that this was the color that I had originally wanted. It has a slight gloss to it, but isn't super reflective. It looks just like the finish on newer cars. I did the cowl with this product also, the only difference in the prep for the cowl was that I used some very small wire brushes and scrapers to get the rust off, taped off the rubber seal that goes against the windshield, and then used the Adhesion Promoter before painting.
One thing that I did not do was mark the location of the wipers before I took them off, so this made it a little bit more difficult to align them when I went to put them back on. I would recommend marking them before you take them off.
Here are some before pictures:
These pictures are from over a year ago and the pieces had started to fade even more than they are in the pictures.
Here is the final result. I am very happy with it, hopefully the extra money spent on the good paint is money well spent and it holds up for a long time. I also installed new wiper arm nuts on the front and new Toyota wipers all around.
Feel free to post and questions or comments. Hopefully this will help someone out.
1. Wash good and dry
2. Scuff with grey scuff pad
3. I taped of the rubber part on the rear wiper and put tape in the splines on the wipers so they don't get covered in paint
4. Wipe down with Rubbing Alcohol and wipe it off quickly with a dry cloth to make sure you are removing any grease or dirt
5. Paint them (no need for the adhesion promoter or primer unless there is no paint left at all)
I was not happy with the results with the SEM Trim Black on the wipers. It came out very spotty and completely flat. It looked almost grey because it had no shine to it at all. I chose not to paint the cowl with this, and went back to get a different product to do the wipers with again and the cowl.
This time I bought SEM Bumper Coater Honda Black (39293). The prep was almost the same except I didn't wash them this time. I just scuffed them again, wiped with rubbing alcohol, and painted. From the start I could tell that this was the color that I had originally wanted. It has a slight gloss to it, but isn't super reflective. It looks just like the finish on newer cars. I did the cowl with this product also, the only difference in the prep for the cowl was that I used some very small wire brushes and scrapers to get the rust off, taped off the rubber seal that goes against the windshield, and then used the Adhesion Promoter before painting.
One thing that I did not do was mark the location of the wipers before I took them off, so this made it a little bit more difficult to align them when I went to put them back on. I would recommend marking them before you take them off.
Here are some before pictures:
These pictures are from over a year ago and the pieces had started to fade even more than they are in the pictures.
Here is the final result. I am very happy with it, hopefully the extra money spent on the good paint is money well spent and it holds up for a long time. I also installed new wiper arm nuts on the front and new Toyota wipers all around.
Feel free to post and questions or comments. Hopefully this will help someone out.
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