Windshield Wiper Blades

[truk4u]

Pictures Hobo, pictures, we need them for the Jimmy C "atta boy bus tour."

[Pete]

Brian, I saw this in the latest FMCA magazine: "Beautiful Polished Stainless Steel" windshield wiper sets for Prevost. For info call 360-929-4935.
You might give them a call. Hope this helps

[JIM KELLER]

Pete, Welcome to POG. Looks like your first post although you joined in September. I know you have a lot of knowledge of the industry and we welcome your input.

[BrianE]

Thanks Pete and welcome to the nut house.

The guy that advertises the polished wipers takes your wipers in trade and when I talked to him, was charging about $300 for a polished set he had taken in trade from someone else. It took me the better part of a day to strip and polish my wipers. Would guess you could do several sets in a day if you set up for it. Am currently headed for California for the holiday but will submit some pics when I get back. Happy Turkey Day to all.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Brian, if the entire blade assembly is of stainless steel, you can have your wiper blades electro polished.

Electro polishing is a process similar to electro plating, but in reverse. The parts are suspended in a proper solution with an electric current passing through them whereby even amounts of metal are removed from all surfaces. The parts must be smooth and bare metal before beginning the process and come out bright and shiny on all surfaces as if buffed. This process is used often for the final shine of manufactured SS machine parts and decorative hardware. For instance; A rough casting of ss can be made to shine, but it will still be rough. A sheet metal part with a scratch or dent, will also shine, but will still retain the scratch and dent. Windshield wiper metal before painting is usually of a satin finish and should shine up beautifully.

Buffing wiper blades is dangerous to the operator and is hazardous to the blade. The blade can become snagged and shot like a missile, and the blade can become warped and bent out of shape!

I think when you are all done you will repaint your blades because of the glare!

JIM

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Where's Jimmy. Looks like he is gonna need those new wipers if he is anywhere near home.

Lotta lake effect spots are gonna get a foot or more of the white stuff tonight

Well, I had a real nice trip from Texas to New York and experienced many new things along the way. I am getting acquainted with all the different aspects of the bus and am not feeling as overwhelmed as I was at first. I think that on this trip I have had a smattering of all the different types of driving conditions. Hot and sunny, cold and dry, misting drizzle, pouring rain, snow flurries and blinding blizzard.

The blinding blizzard came Friday night after I went to Home Depot ( Erie PA ) for some winterizing supplies. When I went in the weather was fine ( snowing lightly, with not much cover ). When I came out there was about 8" of snow on the ground and still falling. To get traction I had to raise the tag putting more weight on the drives. I left it that way until I got on the I 90 ramp and then lowered them for the interstate drive.

The road had not yet been plowed and I was one of the pioneers. This was at 8:00 PM and dark. Most drivers were competent and driving pretty well so I had no difficulties except worrying a lot. The distance from Erie, PA to my barn in Westfield, NY is 30mi and I didn't want to stay in the parking lot as an additional two feet was forecast. The usual thirty five minute trip took one and a half hours, in blowing blinding snow. There were many cars and trucks in the ditches. There was now turning back and nowhere safer to go other than the barn. On I went.

When I got to the barn it was impossible to discern where the new drive was located. Someone forgot to mark it with stakes. The snow was now blowing and about 12" deep. I gave it my best guess and made it around the tear drop drive ending at a slight angle to the door. The poor Bling Mobile was piled high with snow and encrusted in ice. After driving twelve hours that day, I was beat and just lowered the front shades and camped out without even going outside.

The next day the morning was clear, but there was still a forecast of an additional two feet of snow. When I opened the door to go out it swept an arc path in the snow and I thought "oh no, that's deep". I made my way to the barn and opened the door. (remember that angle to the door!) I thought it to be prudent to straighten up outside rather than pull in at an angle and try to straighten up on the way in ( bad move in hindsight, wouldn't it be great to live your life in hindsight ), so I backed up to straighten out on what I thought was the drive. You would think it would have been easy the drive is about thirty by eighty feet in that area. well guess what, as I pulled forward and gave it throttle I could sense the slowing down while the rpm's increased and had this sinking feeling. I was so ......... I just turned the bus off and went inside and sat on a block of wood in the corner. After the cooling down period I collected myself and made a plan. I went to the bus raised it up full height on the bags and gently with a spade began to remove the soft mud and snow from around the wheels. You see I was about one foot off the drive on one side. I then raised the tags and shoveled out under it and put large wood under it and then lowered them, this evened out the bus and with shoveling around the drives I made a smooth incline around the drives after which I coated the area with liberal amounts of wood ashes acquired from my neighbor. I then proceeded to get cleaned up enough to enter the MUD MOBILE without contaminating it on the inside. Putting it in first gear and applying brake with the left foot simultaneous to throttle with the right foot I was able to pull out and keep going for a drive around a five mi country block. She was pretty clean after that, but I still left her outside. The next day it cleared enough that I washed her out of a bucket ( several ) and put her in the barn. The weather should be clearing some after Thanksgiving and I will go back to the bus and take her to a truck wash aro 15 min away for a proper washing.

Over all I find busing a fun and enjoyable endeavor and much like MPD I feel that driving it is somewhat addictive. I felt once I got behind the wheel all I wanted to do was buy fuel and drive, somewhere, anywhere I feel it is more relaxing and less tiring than driving an automobile.

Since I didn't take any pictures of all this and there is no evidence of broken or bent parts it probably never happened, just like some turns that couldn't be made by others.

The Bling Mobile still has it's bling albeit a little dirty

[tdelorme]

Jim, glad you made it home with no major problems. Your post proves once again that on a whole, POG members fall into the "more guts than brains" category. Well done!!

[truk4u]

Snowman,

Now I remember why I left Brockport in 1981 and only go back in the summer! The good news, is your close to Reservation fuel...

Good job Jimmy C, I don't think the King ever got it stuck, but he's sure hard on Sat Domes!