Rusty Factory Trailer Hitch

[ness5575]

my factory trailer hitch is starting to rust out. I was thinking of taking it down and painting it. I wasnt sure the best way to go about it though. I was going to take a wire brush to the rusty areas to knock off whatever rust and loose paint that i could and then repaint.

is there something else that i should do??

what kind of paint should i get? is any old automotive paint from the local parts store good enough??

[snoman]

my factory trailer hitch is starting to rust out. I was thinking of taking it down and painting it. I wasnt sure the best way to go about it though. I was going to take a wire brush to the rusty areas to knock off whatever rust and loose paint that i could and then repaint.

is there something else that i should do??

what kind of paint should i get? is any old automotive paint from the local parts store good enough??

If it is rusted badly on outside of tube you need to check inside of tube too to make sure it is not rusted to the point of weakening

[ness5575]

good point snoman, i think that it is just some surface rust on the outside, but i guess i should verify that once i get it down. thats why i want to repaint it - to stop this before the rust gets out of hand...

[snoman]

I have had really good luck with rust converter. I have a freind whos hitch is hardly rusted on the outside but badly rusted to the point of weakening inside the tube.

[RyanbabZ71]

plain black rustoleum. $2 something a can. Works great

[snoman]

plain black rustoleum. $2 something a can. Works great

I use it after the rust converter.

[AirForceAngler]

I've been toying with the idea of sand blasting mine and then having it powder coated. Maybe white to match my truck.

[redchev]

I believe Curt Mfg. makes color matched powder coated hitches with better tow ratings. The cost may be comperable to sandblasting and powder coating to match. I thought I read on this site about weakness in the stock new body style hitch anyway.

[snoman]

I believe Curt Mfg. makes color matched powder coated hitches with better tow ratings. The cost may be comperable to sandblasting and powder coating to match. I thought I read on this site about weakness in the stock new body style hitch anyway.

There may be some merit to this because they have braced the hitch to bumper on new body style and they never did that for 30 years before that!