grayed out windshield wiper

[jano]

My windshield wiper housing and arm is now a sort of dried out gray instead of black. How have you dealt with this? New unit, paint, product, or polish?

I tried "Back to Black" on another car, but it's.. uhm.. too silicony and stays "wet", attracting gunk and gets all over the car even when absurdly careful in using tiny amounts.

 

[JordiC]

Jano are you referring to the Mother's product? Chemical Guys has a similar product called "Black on Black", check it out here. I have personally not used it but have heard good things about it. Apparently it dries to the touch so it might not attract dirt and dust. If not then I suppose a spray can of satin or low gloss paint will do the trick. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[gsxr]

Early 124's had gray wiper covers. Later ones were black (90-up?). Only permanent fix is a repaint, or swapping it out for a good used one. Note that the late 93-up models have an integrated weatherstrip, while the early 93 and older have two separate weatherstrip pieces at the base of the glass. The two styles are not interchangeable.

 

[szvook]

Mine looks the same...so I'm gonna have mine painted the same 199 color and add clear coat on top.

 

[J-Sauce]

I use good old ATF. If it is very dry, you may have to use 2-3 applications, giving each a few minutes to soak in. I have since gotten away with one application at a time, and that keeps a deep shine on it for a good 2-3 months. I use it on my bumper impact strips and mirror boots too.

 

[Christian_K]

I tried "Back to Black" on another car, but it's.. uhm.. too silicony and stays "wet", attracting gunk and gets all over the car even when absurdly careful in using tiny amounts.

There should be other Products out in the detailing market (which is huuuuuuuuuge) who do return the dark color but without a semi-gloss silicone-like wet gloss.
In germany we have them in every hardware/DIY sotre from different brands and they work good.

But that tip with the ATF sounds pretty good (and cheap) either.

 

[gerryvz]

Griot's Garage makes a darkening product that is pretty good stuff.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/bumper+trim+reconditioner.do?sortby=ourPicks

 

[jano]

Thanks all for the tips. Actually, the product I had tried once was "Black Wow", not the "Back to Black" (I'm mixing up AC/DC and Metallica I think).

I had seen some people do a more curious treatment on some trim of other cars by taking a heat gun to it, which brings out a black color (but risks melting/warping of course). I think I've got some spare windshield doohickeys may try it on them.

Christian, I used to be a detailing addict.. just gave away last of the stuff I had in my garage last week. I've settled on ONR washes and some simple spray waxes in between 1/yr polishing and waxing. More peaceful that way.

J-Sauce: check your pm!

Jano

 

[samiam44]

Wax and Degrease, scuff and apply "trim black". Nice semi-gloss with a hint of texture. Wurth stuff is nice autoparts stores sell some decent stuff too. A couple thin coats and it will look like new.

 

[Hi-Power]

As Jano, I used "Black Wow" on the black weather strip located at the bottom of the windshield on my W210 E55 and I am very happy with the amazing end results. Long last for months and restore the trims natural color without leaving a greasy or wet surface.

http://www.blackwow.com

You won't be dissapointed.

 

[sheward]

I like the Mothers product, Back to black. Love the product name Black Wow though. Reminds me of the all time classic "Shamwow"

drew

 

[jano]

I don't like black wow, just to be clear, it's a pain in the ass to apply, and if you do just slightly too much it ends up being quite a mess on your paint that's hard to remove.

 

[500AMM]

.....I had seen some people do a more curious treatment on some trim of other cars by taking a heat gun to it, which brings out a black color (but risks melting/warping of course)....Jano

Hi.

I learned to do this of a paint shop mechanic. It works very well on softer type plastic parts, especially with texture. They are a pain to clean and they do get grey of aging. I used it on a bumper, where I sanded away some scratches giving a rough finish. The heat gun melted the surface just a bit and smoothened the spots completely. I did it more or less all over the bumper and it became black again. Then I applied some kind of plastic polish. I'm not sure how this works out on plain surfaces (without texture) without giving staines. However, the trick is that the coating/material is brought up to it's melting point. I'm quite sure it won't work on rubber parts and paint, unless the paint is a plastic type coating.