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My car is very old and the black has faded off the windshield wiper arms. Now whenever I drive, they can be extremely bright when they reflect the sun, as seen in this photo:

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Apparently I can order replacement windshield wiper arms, but I'm wondering if there's a way for me to just paint them black. Is there any sort of spray paint or other type of paint that I can use to paint them black? I would need some sort of paint that can survive the outdoor elements, including rain and snow. Also, I'm not sure I have the tools to remove the arms, so spray paint might not be the best solution, as I probably wouldn't want to get spray paint on the other parts of the car.

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  • Tools needed to remove it are probably not that special, so my best advise (although not a lifehack) would be to remove it and (spray-)paint it appart with a color made for the outside. If you can't remove it, just apply paint with a brush. Don't forget anyway to "sandpaper" (hope this is the right term) it before painting. If it still happens to be too bright afterwards, you can still sandpaper it once again, the result won't be so smooth, so less shiny...
    – Laurent S.
    Jun 30, 2015 at 7:16
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    This doesn't involve paint as such and might not be the most attactive finish but you could colour them with a black permanent marker and it would be easy to do in situ.
    – Dave
    Jun 30, 2015 at 12:00
  • @Dave Good idea, I'll try that first.
    – pacoverflow
    Jun 30, 2015 at 17:32

7 Answers 7

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My initial thought is to use black spray paint, and apply it to disconnected wipers. If not possible to disconnect easily (or with tools you have), you could opt for doing a sort of opposite chrome wrapping as seen when they paint cars. That is, cover the hood/trunk and possibly windshield with paper so that only the wipers are accessible. Spray away from windshield when applying paint.

Another alternative, going down the hackish way, would be to apply either nail paint (or acrylic paint for metal) to the wipers. Would take some time, but should be easily done with a little patience.

If you have the option try going for matte/flat colors, to help reduce reflections.

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Remove wiper arm. Wash it with soap and water. Hit it with some 220 grit sandpaper lightly. Rinse and dry. This will make your paint job better and stick better. Spray with black spray paint. Let dry. Reassemble. Done.

OR you can do this: Just lift the wiper arm, put a piece of newspaper behind it, effectively masking off parts you don't want black. Spray with "Plasti-dip" (available at any auto store). Looks great and is quick. Also, any overspray can be peeled off very easily.

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So just lift up the wiper and put newspaper under it, covering the windshield. Then just spray away with black acrylic paint - either in a garage or on a day when it isn't windy. It drys quickly. I'm not fussy about "indoor" "outdoor" or whatever paint --- it's cheep. If it doesn't hold up, next summer I'd spray it all over again. Only takes 5 minutes.

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One non paint/marker pen alternative to just cover the large areas is to ask for an off-cut of matt black outdoor/automotive vinyl from a sign writing shop. Stick it to the largest flat areas that are the biggest reflection problem, it will eventually peel but may last a year or more.

Another is black insulation tape but this will be gloss and peel sooner than good vinyl.

Lastly if the cosmetics are not high on your list then bicycle handlebar tape wrapped all around the arm should fix it for you. It is weather resistant and matt and available in black, might look a bit grunge but solve the problem for a couple of years at a time.

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If you have the tools try removing it dipping it in paint and putting it back. Kidding thats ridiculous, pop the wiper up, puy many news paper through it and around it also, spray paint it then

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Unbolt wiper arm from the linkage assembly. Remove wiper blade. Paint wiper arm. Recommend doing one at a time for alignment purposes as well as Murphy's Law (fecal matter occurs- being PC here). Reinstall everything. Repeat process for the other one.

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I just bought some black paint markers from eBay pack of five for £1.79 to paint the arms of my car which hopefully will work

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    @Chenmunka - Why was my edit rejected? The answerer posted a comment with that information. You can see that, as a mod...
    – Voldemort's Wrath
    Sep 8, 2019 at 21:46

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