D.I.Y. - Mirror Removal & Paint + Wiper Arms
 

Purpose: My mirrors were badly flaking and the base was showing through. My wipers were also peeling showing the metal underneath. Wanted to remove any rust and repaint so it looked better.

The wiper arms came after the fact as I had some extra paint and sand paper.

This will also answer this question here.

Total Cost:
Sand Paper 220 grit - $0.99 each
Sand Paper 400 grit - $0.99 each
Dupli-Color Sandable Primer - $8.99
Dupli-Color Acrylic Enamel - $8.99
Mastercraft sand paper - $6.99

Cost: $27 in items.

Time: With the help of one friend sanding, dry time etc 5 hours.

Difficulty: 2/5

Play by play

The first 3 shots are from before I got started. This clearly shows how bad the mirrors were when I bought my Integra. Compare these shots to the final ones in the end.

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00001.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00003.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00004.jpg

Now to remove the mirror u first unscrew this plastic screw (philips/star screwdriver). You could remove the whole door skin and this would go a lot smoother, however it will then take you longer.

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00010.jpg

Then this plastic cover just pulls back and lifts up for removal.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00011.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00012.jpg

For the driver side, the procedure is the same.

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00008.jpg

Then just pull out the wire harness, there's a small clip on the bottom.
Then remove the 3 nuts holding the mirror on. This again would be easier with the door skin removed, but with patience can still be done.

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00009.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00013.jpg

Next here are the 3 screws you need to remove unless u want take a little more time to mask the mirror. There is a chance the screw may strip if you aren't careful. I opted to mask one side vs removing the screws from the other side.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00014.jpg

The gasket just pulls off pretty easy. Take note to the 4 little nubs and the 3 tabs that hold it in. Don't just tear it off, notice how it sat on there. This would be a good time to swap out for a new gasket. Take your time when removing it if you want to use it again.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00015.jpg

Here is how it looked after just a little sanding. The paint was coming off pretty easy. The plastic was pitted so it took some elbow grease and sanding with the the 100 grit paper first, followed by the 150, then 220 and 400.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00016.jpg

This area behind the mirror was fairly dirty. I took a moment to just clean it up a bit (regretted not getting new gaskets, easy addon later.)
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00017.jpg

This is how they looked after i was finished sanding and ready for paint.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00018.jpg

These are the products I used for paint and sanding. Purchased from CTC.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00019.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00020.jpg

And this is the first coat of sandable primer.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00021.jpg

While the first coat was drying i decided to add some Toronto Integras stickers. I think they look pretty damn sweet. I will dyno the car soon and see if they added any HP.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00022.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00023.jpg

One of the mirrors primed and looking far better than what it did.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00024.jpg

Here are all the parts after there second coat of primer. I could now see more imperfections and went back and sanded again.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00025.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00026.jpg

And now back on the car. The flat black paint is hard to differentiate from the primer. I could have gone gloss and depending on future mods / fixes I may still pull them off, add a new gasket and finish in gloss.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00027.jpg

The driver side mirror was the worst. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out considering how bad it was.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00028.jpg

Doing the wipers was the same procedure with regards to prepping. Sanding and making it the best I could before paint ensured I wouldn't have to do it again.
Again, compared to the original this looks far better.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00029.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00030.jpg

The passenger mirror, while not as pitted as the driver side turned out great as well.
http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00031.jpg

http://www.torontointegras.ca/images...gras-00033.jpg

Well, there you go. A quick how to on how to remove the mirrors, prep them for some paint and so on.

May not be perfect or good enough for Sema, but it sure makes my Integra look a bit better.

This is a great write up. Thanks. My Integra needs to get the mirrors redone as well. :) this will be very useful

You should have bought Duplicolor trim paint, its made for moulding/mirrors (plastic) and would have came out with a more OEM looking finish than that, other than that nice write up.

Nice job kevin.

Looks good. I gotta do this to my wipers as well.

do you find that the paint chips??
i did this as well, but after a couple of months chipping occurred
;s

i dont know yet as i only did it the other day but i put alot of coats . so i am guessing it will last. but if it starts chipping i will be sure to report it and buy new mirror mounts.

Thanks i am still thinking about going over it with that trim paint , but i am still not sure if there will be some more flat black as i still need a hood for the car. but thanks for the tip i'm sure most ppl would be more happy with the colour u sugested.

:) I just did all my wipers today front and back but I didn't have sand paper, so I looked around the house for things to use. I got the job done with steel wool works great.
+1 for DIY

how are they holding out guys???
any chips on the wiper arms?

its only been a month but it seems to be holding up great so far no marks or chips at all yet.

Is the primer really necessary? I spoke to a buddy of mine who did his wiper arms and he just sanded down the whole thing, and then did four coats of paint on it. He hasn't had any problems yet. I don't really have any pitting, just lots of flaking.

Any advice?

LoL as if there is a DIY with pictures for this.

And as was stated you could have used better products to create a better end result.

As for primer on the arms, its unnecessary...stipped the paint, put on 4-5 coats of black metal paint. Zero issues in well over a year.

I think people are trying to hard with some of these DIY posts. I mean had this process required anything besides the obvious than maybe but honestly if you don't know how to remove your mirrors and wiper arms and repaint them you shouldnt even be owning a budget honda.

Next up..DIY oil changes, this site is evolving backwards..

The wiper arms are made of aluminum, at least mine is, you will have to strip the paint and primmers back off and re-primer it with self etching aluminium primer, This will make the top coat adhear better to the alum or steel if that the case; better to use for the loacation to reduce chips and such. Self-etching primer bonds better to bare metals than any other aerosol primer; Adheres to steel, aluminium, stainless and galvanised steel.

how is it now?

have ur wiper arms started chipping??

0 chipping or fading. its still 100%

very nice diy man

im going out to buy the stuff
thx

i wish there was one for the window trim, mine is starting to look chrome