Hi all -

My FD, like many others, had really faded wiper arms, the wiper blades needed replacing, and I was missing both of the oval-shaped screw caps on the wiper cowling. Time to go to work .

First off, got a pair of these -

http://www.tricoproducts.com/brochur...location_id=65

They're new wiper blades from Trico that's just like a lot of the German cars come with now - they don't have a metal frame, instead they have a flexible backbone inside the blade itself. See the link above for a pic and description. Bottom line is they work GREAT - I've been very pleased with the performance. You need 2 20" blades for an FD's front windshield, not sure on the rear wiper. I got them at Pep Boys - about $12-14 each, a little high, but they're cool .

If you read my junkyard post, you know that I got a pile of the oval-shaped screw covers off various 626's in the junkyard. Unfortunately, those things just flat BAKE in the sun, and get brittle with time. As of now, I only have one that's still on the car - the others have broken. I'm not sure what they run new, probably not too pricey (hopefully) but it was worth getting some for free from the junkyard to tide me over .

The screw covers were faded, so I cleaned them with Prep-Sol and painted with flexible black rubber bumper paint. Turned out GREAT.

The wiper arms themselves had the paint faded and worn off, and just looked sorry. Pop the rubber cap off, remove the 12mm nut that holds it in place, and remove. I went over the blades with a Scotchbrite pad to get any loose crud off and degreased it with Prep-Sol, then painted with Trim Black spraypaint. Turned out AWESOME. They needed 2-3 coats to get a good cover on them.

Anyhow, this is just another one of those things where you spend a few bucks and a few hours with the car, and it makes a BIG improvement in how the car looks. There's tons of little things like this - even if you don't have money for big mods, just get in there with some creativity and elbow grease and fix it up.

Dale

 

Just remove them! LOL Lots of Rain-X and drive real fast! :P Awesome Dale, we need before and after pictures!!!

 

Rain-X, a windshields best friend....

 

I use Rain-X as well - that's just good stuff. BTW, if you guys haven't tried the Rain-X in the spray can, GET IT. Makes applying Rain-X about a zillion times easier.

I'm gonna get some pics when my car isn't totally filthy . Or I may just take some anyhow.

Dale

 

Let's see the pics Dale. Mine look like crap too. I asked Ray at Malloy Mazda how much a new cowl cover would be and he quoted me something like $240. I said "no thanks." I'll probably do what you've done when I get the car back.

 

I'll get some pics tomorrow - by the time I go home from work, it'll be dark out. I hate going off daylight savings time .

My cowl actually looked good - hit it with a little Armor-All and it looked just fine. I've seen some cowls that were REALLY faded and whitish looking. In that case, a repaint with that flexible bumper paint would likely hook it up.

Dale

 

Per popular request, here's some pics. Yes, the car is FILTHY - we've had solid rain this week, and driving by/behind dump trucks hauling hurricane debris definitely doesn't help .

Last pic is of the plastic screw cover I got from a 626 in the junkyard and painted with the bumper paint. It was faded/whitish when I got it, looks great now.

Dale

 

Those type of wiper blade are standard on many Mercedes already.

BC

 

Yeah, I've seen them on VW's as well. They're JUST coming into the aftermarket for other cars .

Dale

 

right on bro!
low mile cars that have been garaged have no problem in this area but a few months of sun with 10 year old plastic and its shot!

what is the flexible paint you used? the bumper trim paint right? id be worried about it flaking off of the plastic. at the same time if you armorol it thats just covering up the problem

 

I used black rubber bumper paint - it's designed to flex. I've used it on other things in the past and it works GREAT. Just make sure to degrease the parts well before applying.

BTW, I didn't paint the wiper cowl, as it looked just fine - just the plastic caps that go over the screws. But, this would also work well for the whole cowl. The cowl itself doesn't flex much or come into contact with other things, so a good paint job on it should last a LONG time.

Dale

 

Thanks for the info dcfc3s.
FWIW, especially after being removed once or twice, I've found that using a little clear silicone adhesive caulk will keep those covers from coming back loose. You won't have to go back to the salvage yard again but still get them off if you need to. A tube costs < $2 and it comes in handy for alot of interior squeaks and rattles too.

 

i should do this too... the wiper arms look like crap after 10+ years

BTW, what type of paint did you use for the arms? originally they were a matte black finish correct?

 

I couldnt find the same blades at Pep Boys or Autozone, so I bought the Bosch Micro Excel's instead, and a bottle of Rain-x spray(thanks dcfc3s). I will post on how both perform, as soon as I use both.

 

lol dont use your wipers and rain x at the same time.... LOL

 

What are you guys doing driving these cars around in the rain? I've used my wipers once in the past two years (got caught in an unexpected storm on the way home).

I like those "beam blades". Just may have to get some for some of my cars...

 

why wouldn't you drive in the rain?

 

Cause it'll get wet and spotted! (guess my kidding nature didn't come thru in my previous post)

Seriously, though. I won't drive my car in the rain because it's even more prone to the rear sliding around.

 

yeah i wont drive in rain either... oh wait my car hasn'tr moved in 2 years

 

Why not? I do, on occassion, because sometimes I have to. Rain-x is INCREDIBLE, but you gotta be driving fast enough. But sometimes, it's raining too hard/heavy, so you can't drive fast, leaving you no choice but to use your wipers. I see no probs w/ it, and haven't had any ill effects at all. Wipers still wipe very well, and the windshield still scatters water due to the Rain-x at higher speeds.

 

hrm i should get those.

my passenger side one.. doesnt conform to the windshield at rest possible (at the tip of it)

grr

 

Anybody have any experiences with those expensive (relatively) PIAA wipers?

 

Any updates on how these are working?
Do you find them to be any better than other products?
I know its only been around a month, but how have they worked without the wiper spoiler/air deflector? Any noticeable chatter at speed?

 

The new wiper blades have worked great - they seem to do the job just fine. No streaking or anything, and they look way neat .

Dale

 

Any chatter at speed with the deflector removed?
I read that people had removed the deflector with negative results, any comment on that?
Have you noticed any wiper noise at all with this new design?