DIY: Wiper blades and plastic windshield filler *revised*
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:40 pm
Firstly, yes i know this has been covered before but tbh i found it very vague and with no pictures or a complete guide so here is an updated version.
What you will need:
Etch Primer for the wiper blades
Flexi prime (plastic primer) for the plastic filler
Paint (i would recommend a gloss paint over a matte, as matte will give the same faded in sun look your trying to get rid of, however it doesnt have to be black - might want to get creative here and go with something else) I went with just a plain gloss black
Sandpaper - i used a 320 grit as thats all i had lying round at the time - suitable grits will range from about 180-400, but not too fine we want something for the primer to stick to.
Masking tape is not really necessary here, as everything on the wiper and the filler can be sprayed it will not effect anything.
An area where you dont want overspray happening - i just used an old tshirt/rag and sprayed them on that, preferably somewhere with no wind or anything that might blow dust onto the drying paint.
Mineral turpentine (turps)
Patience!
The wiper blades simply come off with a 12mm socket - which are just under the clips on the end if you still have them.
To get the windshield/bonnet filler off, it simply unclips all around the edges from the tiny black clips - but dont force it too much as they can break off and get stuck in the holes and you wont have a way to secure it back on
Firstly, get some sandpaper and rub back the wiper blades, what you are really aiming to do is get off all the surface rust and loosely flaking paint - you dont have to sand it back down to the bare metal, but make sure paint will not continue to flake off and that it is a relatively smooth surface. This is an example of mavericks before sanding.
After sanding you need to rub down the wipers with some turps to get off all remains of crap, additionally you can use wax and grease remover - either or. Then you need to prep the surface with the etch primer - now this is a white paint like substance, follow the directions on the can, usually takes several light coats, and will be easy to see as its white on black, make sure almost no black is showing through the white after the 3rd/4th coat. Allow to dry for 20min on a sunny day. (didnt get a pic of it primed 
)
At this stage they should be ready to spray - make sure to follow the directions on the can carefully - i.e. how long to shake the can (usually 1min after you hear the sound of the agitator) and how long to flash dry and inbetween coats - mine was a relatively fast drying paint and was touch dry in around 10min)
Lay the wiper blades down on one side (possibly easier to hang them up somewhere if you are not worried about overspray anywhere etc, easiest for me was to lay them down flat, paint one side and then turn them over once dry - eliminated the risk of them dropping if leaned up against something etc)
A few tips before you get all trigger happy.
- Apply several light coats rather than 1/2 big coats, as guaranteed you will find the end product to have runs and to be of an overall poorer quality.
- do not hold down the spray and coat the entire wiper quickly in one go
- make 'overlapping' passes, make sure your passes clear the entire blade before you release the spray, and release the spray when you do, then proceed to come back and slightly overlap it and repeat it.
- make sure to get in the few tricky places that move - the wiper part which pivots on the arm, make sure to get in at all points of movement, also the ends of the blades that can flex. make sure everywhere is sprayed.
- be patient waiting for the coats to dry, even when it looks dry still wait it out and be cautious, one fingerprint smudge can ruin the entire effect and is very difficult if not impossible to get out without going back to square one.
After spraying one side, wait long enough for it to completely dry (around 20min on a sunny day) and turn over and repeat.
Once the final coast is applied and HAS DRIED OVERNIGHT (do not attempt to sand in less than 24 hours) it is optional to lightly sand back the finished blade with some wet and dry 1200+ grit very lightly to smooth it out, however i skipped this as its not really a determining factor in the overall end look.
It is ok to get a hair dryer on a relatively low setting for a short period of time on the blades once they are DRY ALREADY to speed up being able to fully handle them without fear of smudging etc to get them on your car the same day.
Your final product should be of high quality and noticeably better than just a newspaper on the windscreen and just spray them job. This is how mine turned out:
Now onto the filler part thingymabob.
This was mine before i started - faded to hell and looking a bit drab.
Sanding this i was probably a bit lazy, i went over the top part briefly and the sides, but didnt bother getting in between all the crevaces that basically make up the thing, because im gen y and lazy and because it was only faded, not really damaged. Then wipe over the entire piece with some turps which should dry very fast. You should be left with a clean surface now.
Take the plastic primer and following the tips above coat the piece in a few light coats (i did two) You have to be a little more alert here, even more so if yours is shinier, as the primer is black, and will only give a small noticeable difference with it on compared to off, so keep mental note of what you have done, ideally all in one session and keep to horizontal passes (shortways, not longways)
After a few coats you should come out with a significantly higher shine/gloss filler than it was, this is mine afterwards:
Hope this will help a few people whos black bits a looking a bit drab, should cost around the 50 dollar mark, however you come out with 2 primers and paint for any other jobs to tackle.
As you can see it is well worth the few hours investment and gives a sharper look to the car.
What you will need:
Etch Primer for the wiper blades
- w6.jpg (112.57 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
- a5.jpg (114.07 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
- w4.jpg (104.89 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
Masking tape is not really necessary here, as everything on the wiper and the filler can be sprayed it will not effect anything.
An area where you dont want overspray happening - i just used an old tshirt/rag and sprayed them on that, preferably somewhere with no wind or anything that might blow dust onto the drying paint.
Mineral turpentine (turps)
Patience!
The wiper blades simply come off with a 12mm socket - which are just under the clips on the end if you still have them.
To get the windshield/bonnet filler off, it simply unclips all around the edges from the tiny black clips - but dont force it too much as they can break off and get stuck in the holes and you wont have a way to secure it back on
Firstly, get some sandpaper and rub back the wiper blades, what you are really aiming to do is get off all the surface rust and loosely flaking paint - you dont have to sand it back down to the bare metal, but make sure paint will not continue to flake off and that it is a relatively smooth surface. This is an example of mavericks before sanding.
- w5.jpg (111.97 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
- w1.jpg (194.39 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
)At this stage they should be ready to spray - make sure to follow the directions on the can carefully - i.e. how long to shake the can (usually 1min after you hear the sound of the agitator) and how long to flash dry and inbetween coats - mine was a relatively fast drying paint and was touch dry in around 10min)
Lay the wiper blades down on one side (possibly easier to hang them up somewhere if you are not worried about overspray anywhere etc, easiest for me was to lay them down flat, paint one side and then turn them over once dry - eliminated the risk of them dropping if leaned up against something etc)
A few tips before you get all trigger happy.
- Apply several light coats rather than 1/2 big coats, as guaranteed you will find the end product to have runs and to be of an overall poorer quality.
- do not hold down the spray and coat the entire wiper quickly in one go
- make 'overlapping' passes, make sure your passes clear the entire blade before you release the spray, and release the spray when you do, then proceed to come back and slightly overlap it and repeat it.
- make sure to get in the few tricky places that move - the wiper part which pivots on the arm, make sure to get in at all points of movement, also the ends of the blades that can flex. make sure everywhere is sprayed.
- be patient waiting for the coats to dry, even when it looks dry still wait it out and be cautious, one fingerprint smudge can ruin the entire effect and is very difficult if not impossible to get out without going back to square one.
- w3.jpg (128.84 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
Once the final coast is applied and HAS DRIED OVERNIGHT (do not attempt to sand in less than 24 hours) it is optional to lightly sand back the finished blade with some wet and dry 1200+ grit very lightly to smooth it out, however i skipped this as its not really a determining factor in the overall end look.
It is ok to get a hair dryer on a relatively low setting for a short period of time on the blades once they are DRY ALREADY to speed up being able to fully handle them without fear of smudging etc to get them on your car the same day.
Your final product should be of high quality and noticeably better than just a newspaper on the windscreen and just spray them job. This is how mine turned out:
- w7.jpg (168.97 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
- w2.png (515.84 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
Now onto the filler part thingymabob.
This was mine before i started - faded to hell and looking a bit drab.
- a2.jpg (78.78 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
Take the plastic primer and following the tips above coat the piece in a few light coats (i did two) You have to be a little more alert here, even more so if yours is shinier, as the primer is black, and will only give a small noticeable difference with it on compared to off, so keep mental note of what you have done, ideally all in one session and keep to horizontal passes (shortways, not longways)
After a few coats you should come out with a significantly higher shine/gloss filler than it was, this is mine afterwards:
- q3.jpg (145.62 KiB) Viewed 1381 times
Hope this will help a few people whos black bits a looking a bit drab, should cost around the 50 dollar mark, however you come out with 2 primers and paint for any other jobs to tackle.
As you can see it is well worth the few hours investment and gives a sharper look to the car.
