It took Two Tries at the Hitch Maintenance to Get it Painted!

Hitch maintenance doesn't sound too difficult or involved does it? That's because you ain't done it with me! Took me two tries to get it done.

The thing was getting kind of ugly. Between the sun, the birds and dropping the pin box down when I flipped the axles, it was gettin' pretty shabby looking. 'Twas time for a bit of hitch maintenance on the Eagle.

Now along in here is where I started to go astray. I thought to myself, "Self! wouldn't it be nice if that hitch really shined when I look back at it in the mirror when we're pulling down the road?"

With that thought in mind a went looking for paint. Thought I had a really different sort of idea when I came home with this Rustoleum stuff to do the hitch maintenance with. It's sort of a chrome looking, shiny silver sort of paint.

"WoW!" thought I. "This thing will really gleam when I get a few coats of this on there!"

The sanding and primering didn't take much time. After all, the hitch box ain't that big! Then I had to wait on the weather for a good day to put the finish paint on. Ended up I only had to wait maybe a week for the weather to co-operate with my hitch maintenance plans.

OK, so now it's starting to go south. The first rattle can leaks all over me. I manage to get the hitch coated but a pretty mediocre job and I'm part silver now. I busted open the second can and used what I needed out of it. The second can seemed to function all right.

Then I stand back and take stock of my progress.

Have you ever started doing something you thought was going to be really sharp ........ and somewhere along in there, as you're working, you start to realize, maybe, just maybe, you hadn't thought out the whole thing, absolutely, totally, completely?

Well, standing there looking at this silver hitch, with me nearly as silver, I started getting the distinct feeling that this was very possibly going to end up in that ever growing file of the "dumb things I've done".

But, being a little hesitant to admit defeat, I decided to give it a week. Let's see how I feel about it after looking at it for a week.

So, a week goes by and I walk over to that now, I have no doubts, decidedly, UGLY, hitch. I run my hand across it as the thought runs through my head, "Where was my brain when I was painting this nasty, UGLY, hitch!"

"Man that paint feels funny" is the answer that pops into my head.

HUH? Looking at my hand there is a new question! What the $&#@ happened?

The paint had cured for a week, only it hadn't cured at all! What a mess! At first I tried to sand it off again. That only plugged the paper almost instantly. This hitch maintenance was not turning out to be the quick and easy job I had anticipated!

Second try was to use mineral spirits on a rag. That worked but awful slow, and used up rags pretty quick.

After I had gone over the whole hitch once, I went back inside to get more rags. When I went back to scrubbing on that nasty, greasy paint, after it had soaked for a couple minutes it started coming off pretty fast.

Another brite idea ........ only this one worked!

I poured some thinner in a can and then just sloshed it on the hitch with an old brush. That week old paint washed off that hitch as if I was washing water color off a window! I had the whole hitch cleaned off in five minutes! I wasn't gaining any on my hitch maintenance but at least I was back to clean primer!

I don't know if the paint was bad or I did something wrong, though I can't for the life of me figure out what. It's not too hard to spray paint on a chunk of metal! I figured I could handle that! Guess I was wrong!

Only thing I can tell you is the Rustoleum primer is perfectly fine, but that chrome looking Rustoleum paint is nothing but goo! It was applied at about 65 degrees, over cured primer, had a week to cure itself, and then rubbed off on my hand when I ran it across the hitch!

I guess I should count my blessings. It's a good thing that stuff was so easy to take back off, considering how God awful UGLY it was! RV Maintenance gone wrong!

So it was back to the paint shelf for a different option. I decided to go with the standard black ........... since it was universally agreed around this place, that the shiny silver look fits into the "not so much" category if you ask anyone how they liked it!

Picked up some VanSickle paint. It's used by a lot of folks around here that do tractor restorations and on farm equipment. I have good confidence in it, and figured it would work well for this hitch maintenance.

This time the cans worked and the paint went on without a glitch. (On the hitch and not on me!)

Never thought some hitch maintenance, as simple as a fresh coat of paint, would turn into an ordeal, but then I am famous for engaging Murphys Law at unexpected times.

All's well that ends well, and the hitch is back to clean and proper. ........ and black!

I won't tell you to not "experiment" with things .......... but, don't get your feelings hurt if your idea turns out to not be the thing of beauty you thought it would!

Remember, it's your failures that make your wins shine so bright!

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