Is there a trick to removing the wiper arms?
 

Not the blade inserts, and not the blades into the wiper arms. I'm trying to remove the full wiper arms themselves. The black paint is chipping off and or badly worn. Need to repaint 'em.

I've removed the 16mm nut no prob. But after that, I have no luck in pulling or prying off the wiper arm from the threaded shaft. I don't want to damage the wipe tie arms underneath. How do you remove these pups? Any cautions?

Secondly, do you think repainting them is not a good project (paint will wear quickly), and maybe I should just buy new ones? Are new ones expensive?

Thanks guys!

I changed mine for the same reason, i bought new ones for the driver/passenger/rear window. They are around $30-$40 each arm. For me that was well worth replacing, instea of painting them and then they might look uneven, not match etc.

The trick i found to take them off was to make the arm bend and then wiggle etc. You could try some water or lub maybe?

After removing that nut, all you need to do is pull on the wiper arm to loosen it. I found it easiest to use both hands, and move it up (as if you were manually "wiping" the windshield). After you break it loose, then it should pull right out.