3 Pitfalls To Avoid When You're Painting A Trailer Hitch
While trailer hitches can be very useful, if they don't have paint, rust will become a bigger and bigger problem the more you use one in warm and rainy weather. Even if your particular trailer hitch is painted, the paint could gradually chip off to the point where it's a good idea to scrape all the old bits off and apply a completely new coat. Once you acquire paint and a brush for painting your trailer hitch, remember to avoid these three pitfalls.
Not Removing Every Last Bit Of Rust First
Your paint will work best if the surface it's covering is as smooth as possible. The more bumps there are, the harder it is to keep your coat's thickness uniform and the easier it is for air bubbles to form.
So go over all sides and crevices of your trailer hitch with a wire brush and a can of lubricant several times. No matter how stubborn a particular piece of rust appears to be, remember that every swipe you make with the wire brush reduces it considerably.
Putting Too Much Paint In Screw And Bolt Holes
Since the screw and bolt holes on your trailer hitch need to be a very specific shape to work right, they're the most important spaces to clear completely when you're using your wire brush. But if you put too much paint in the holes, paint can be just as much of an obstruction as rust can.
Just as you wouldn't swipe your paintbrush over one small part of your trailer hitch a dozen times or more at the exclusion of everything else, don't let your brush linger in any of the holes for more than a few seconds. Even if the bottoms of some of the holes seem a little paler or darker than the paint color you're using, it isn't necessarily a good idea to use your paintbrush again and risk putting too much paint on the rest of a hole.
Applying All Your Paint At Once
Unless you're very skilled and careful, it'll be hard to add a lot of paint to your trailer hitch at once without creating at least a few air bubbles. Instead, separate your job into two or three parts. Once you're done adding a thin coat of paint, wait for it all to dry before you add the next one. If you're using old newspapers to hold your trailer hitch, applying thinner coats will also mean that less of the paint will fall off and get wasted.
For more information about trailer hitches, visit Burnsville Trailer Hitch.
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