Pulled both trailer hitches to sandblast. (1 Viewer)

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Got tired of looking at the chipped and faded factory paint on the 97's trailer hitch, and the 93's red hitch has faded (thought it would look industrial) after 4 years. So pulled them both and dropped them off at the sandblaster. They also powder coat there, but wanted $100 to powder coat them black and it would take several days before they do black again. So, I'm going to rattle can them after proper surface prep and priming for a total cost of $15 instead. It won't last as long, but I can touch up black every few years without even taking it off. Has anyone painted their hitch a color besides black? The red looked kinda cool until it faded after about 3 years. I was thinking about Caterpillar yellow this time. Then I chickened out and picked up some semi gloss black on the way home after looking at the hammered metal paint for a while.

So any suggestions? One truck is dark blue, the other dark green (coolest color on an 80 ever).

DougM
 
Duplicolor makes Trim Black. Its a sorta semi gloss that matches the rest of the trim. Just stick with the black, it blends in. You could always go with some high visibility/reflective tape ($1.98 a roll in red or white) to put along your horizontal bars for visibility.

I borrowed a friend of mines modified hitch haul basket (had a receiver welded on the outside end that stuck out about 10 inches). I sandblasted that and painted it high visibility orange after whackin my shin on it a couple times...

That was in 2004, and its still orange......everyone that borrows it laffs about the color, but they dont whack their shins.
 
Pink would work well with both 80's and really stand out.
 
fwiw, I am thoroughly soured on powdercoating. Maybe I just dealt with badly done ones, but my experience has not been good. Yes, it looks great when new. Yes, it seems (outwardly) to last longer. And yes, when the rust starts, it creeps underneath where you don't see it until it gets really bad and then starts to flake off. Altogether I like paint better I think. Super easy to touch up, even installed on the truck.


Anyways, back to the subject at hand, I am partial to satin black. Some grays or silvers may be nice too.
 
I used the Hammerite grey and it blens with the bumper ends fairly well.
Would have used black but they were out. Still looks good two years later.
 
So any suggestions? One truck is dark blue, the other dark green (coolest color on an 80 ever).

I like the black for your blue truck and I would use the Caterpillar Yellow for the green truck; anything to take one's eye off of the exterior.

:D

-B-
 
Duplicolor makes Trim Black. Its a sorta semi gloss that matches the rest of the trim...

Krylon semi flat black #1613 also matches the trim and ARB pretty close.
 
nay how is your hitch holding up in the bumper now?

Perfect. I've done all kinds of extractions this winter and am getting ready to carry four bikes to Moab.
 
do you think it could be modified slightly to keep the spare underneath, by attaching where the original hitch brackets attach to the frame?
 
Krylon Semi Flat Black it is. Good point on it matching the ARBs - perfect match. Primed, painted and drying overnight in the laundry room with the recovery hooks. Also like the reflective tape - think I'll do that as well.

Regards,
DougM
 
I used some rustoleum textured black (it was almost like more fine 'no slip' texture) to repaint the suspension of a few vehicles and it was very durable and looked good...
 
I like the black for your blue truck and I would use the Caterpillar Yellow for the green truck; anything to take one's eye off of the exterior.

:D

-B-

:flipoff2: :doh:
 
I second the Hammerite spray in the black of your choice - it bonds to mild rust without needing a primer, as long as you get rid of the loose stuff, and it is very durable.

I use the gloss black in a can and a small brush for powdercoat touchup.

John Davies
Spokane WA
 
John - thanks for the recommendation. The Krylon won due to the match with the satin ARBs on both trucks and it's an uncanny match.

While reinstalling, I was amazed again at how heavy these Class III hitches are. I think they weight at least 3/4 what a front ARB bumper does and it would be interesting to know how much they add to rear end collision strength. Based on the way they tie both frames together, and are bowed rearward for further structural strength, I'd say it is significant.

I found 2 bolts on my 93 recovery hooks were unacceptably corroded and the threads were about half depth where they engage the frame nuts. I've got them in a plastic bag on the dash and will be putting all new ones on. All that talk about flying recovery hooks...

DougM
 
So, I'm going to rattle can them after proper surface prep and priming for a total cost of $15 instead.
DougM

Hey Doug, I imagine the $15 was for paint......how much were you charged to have the hitch sandblasted? Are you having a bodyshop do this?
 

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