Removal of windshield wiper plastic "tray" for painting....?

All,
the plastic "tray" on my '02 explorer is very faded and needs refreshing with some black Krylon Fusion. Has anyone ever removed this piece and if so can you provide some tips?

Thanks in advance

 

[F15E_WSO]

OK,
that was easy....removed both wiper arms....then I pulled gently on the "corners" of the tray closest to the glass/windshield. Clips started popping up as I worked my way towards the center to the windshield. I got all the clips loose except it was still binding at the middle. The tray is in two pieces and it may be necessary to remove the passenger side tray first. I got the top edge of the passenger side fully free first. I then started loosening the edge of the tray nearest the engine compartment. I had the hood partially open at this point so it would not bind against the tray as it was coming out. I removed the passenger side completely again loosening the same style clips across the bottom by pulling gently/controlled steady force. I then worked again on the driver side and it came out as well. Some leaf debris in there, will run the shop vac and then paint. I'll post photos later.

 

[F15E_WSO]

Before and After shots....

Ok,
here are some pics of the tray before I painted.

I included one photo of the area around the wiper moter so you can see the holes where the clips that hold the tray in place and against the windshield, the circles show only 5 of them, there are a few more that can't be seen in this photo. When replacing, the two halves interlock so the DRIVER side MUST go in first.

The second photo is the surface before I painted, it is washed with scrubby sponge and strong detergent before painting with Krylon Fusion Satin.

Since I had the wiper arms off and they were faded and showing specks of aluminum or something I painted those with Flat Black Rust-o-leum.

 

[F15E_WSO]

After Shots

Here's the tray and wiper arms after painting....The wiper arms are marked D and P for driver and passenger I guess. Make sure you get those back on the proper posts as when you lay them down to paint you'll see they are not quite the same configuration.

Oh and after I washed and waxed the truck it has now begun to rain as I type this.....

 

[F15E_WSO]

Oh there's more....

The grill was gray and 4 screws hold it in, took two seconds to remove and I painted that black as well. I tried to customize the emblem but that was an epic fail (see my sad story on the emblem thread). I have been treating the gray faded tupperware with Bondo "restore black" and it looks pretty good now. Takes 15 minutes to "re-fresh" it with the black after every 4-5 wash as desired.

I also de-badged all the "Explorer" badges, then Maguires compound and some wax and you can't even tell. Used my wife's heat gun for crafts to loosen the badges, cut them off with dental floss and used the gun again to heat the adhesive residue and some Goo Gone. The heat gun is key for this as is the Goo-Gone. Just continue to heat and rub with a terry towel.

Truck is all Green and Black now except for the gold pin-stripping. Not sure if I'm liking that anymore...? I have a ton of black pin-stripping left over from my son's truck. May remove the gold and swap for Black....Thoughts?

 

[TallZac]

Looks good! I did the same thing to mine a couple months ago, though i ended snapping one of them because of a mean clip . Yours came out wayy better though.

 

[F15E_WSO]

Looks good! I did the same thing to mine a couple months ago, though i ended snapping one of them because of a mean clip . Yours came out wayy better though.

TallZac,
I've had good luck with the Fusion paint. I had a good sunny day with little wind and normal humidity for DC. I paint on that old sheet to keep bugs and grass away and lay down some thin coats. After doing my son's 2001 sport's tupperware I've got about 6-9 cans experience with the stuff by now. I'm getting the hang of it. I hear you about the clips, generally two things happen; they break due to rust or they won't come out and something else breaks. Damn lucky this time.