When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Decided to hell with it, I have some free time so I went a different route to "fix" my peeling wiper arms.
I am doing this all by hand. Why ? Because I'm bored. Benefits? Save .5 lbs in weight from paint lol.
Took a break right now since my hand is cramping and might as well spread out the sanding over the week
Using 220 grit so far to see what it looks like, and it turned out really nice but I would like to go finer grit. I am not sanding the spring area because I dont want that to rust and I will be applying clear coat to the final product to prevent rust.
Speaking of krylon. Currently looked through my cabinet of paints and I have krylon made for plastic. Will it hold up the same ? Or should I just wait to buy the metal paint.
Years ago I sand blasted mine, did 2 base coats of POR-15, then overcoated with I think 4 coats of DupliColor Trim Black. Finally no more wiper arm rust and still looks good 6 years or so later.
Years ago I sand blasted mine, did 2 base coats of POR-15, then overcoated with I think 4 coats of DupliColor Trim Black. Finally no more wiper arm rust and still looks good 6 years or so later.
^sounds like a good method. Mine haven't got to the point of rusting, just faded. They are starting to bug me though.
But..GUYS..
Using MY Idea of Tractor paint now turns the Noise of the wipers from Squeee.....Squeee to...Badonkadonk...Badonkadonk...
Do ya think mah Wiper's Sexay?.....
Yea polished wiper arms on a FC won't look the best as there's nothing else on the car with a polished look to break the car up but at the end of the day it's your car.
paint them satin black.
There's a reason they're black originally. Imagine its nice and sunny out and the sun hits the wiper arms at just the right angle and reflects off of the arms into the windshield, spreading the light, burning what was once your retina.... Just try it I suppose and if you don't like it, prep them and paint them black. I personally don't care for the polished look myself.
You know what, I really just wanted to try it. Test it out before I put her away for the winter. Another cool paint I have is the beaten metal look, dark gray and I found it in my misc bin.
Also while we're onto polished looks, what does everyone think of polished engine bay items ? I saw one on here and it looked classic. I'm currently in the process of cleaning every nook and cranny with a tooth brush.
I like powder coated intakes and such but polished I think looks great under the hood. Although upkeep would be a bitch.
Yea under the hood is a different story polished intakes, cooler pipes and alternators don't look to bad.
The up keep would be a mission you'd probably have to repolish/tidy it up every 6-12 months depends how you want it to look and how often and what weather conditions you drive the car in.
I think the trick to underhood bling is to keep everything at a consistent level of finish.
Nothing is more jarring than a crap bay sprinkled with a few shiny bits.
Pick the worst component/area in the bay, make it as good as you can, then bring everything else to that level of finish. This approach means that some parts may not be as highly finished as they could be but the further they go beyond the norm, the worse the other parts begin to look.
For an example of this strategy, look at pics/vids of a polished V-8 intake manifold. Typically what you see is the big areas highly polished and the finish degrades in the nooks, crannies and hard to reach areas. The contrast will focus the eye on the crappy spots, not the majority of the piece, which may look fine.
Consistency is the key.
Also, be aware of the difference between polished and shiny.
A polished piece may shine (but not necessarily, look at a watchmaker's "black polish" for an example) but all the edges and details are crisp and clean. The typical path to "shiny" is a buffing wheel, which in the hands of your average joe will smear away crisp details in search of shine.
Not a good trade off, IMO.
And yes, upkeep will be a bitch.
A part that has been intentionally polished up better damn well look flawless or you just look lazy.
For an example, look at a car painted silver/gray compared to one that is black.
The gray car will never look as sharp as the black one but it can get a lot dirtier before it starts looking tatty, where the black car will start looking filthy almost immediately.
You want black paint (or shiny parts), be prepared for the extra effort.
