Rust on towball

[Didi]

Hi! We are about to head off on a trip and there is a bit of rust on the towball which developed in the few days it took for the new cover to arrive when the previous one was mislaid. Should we give this a little sand before hitching on and, if so, what grade of sandpaper should we use? Thanks so much for any advice!

 

[Mr Plodd]

A bit of fine glass-paper (sand hasn't been used for decades) or a bit of fine wet and dry (used dry) will do the job perfectly.
DONT use anything coarse

 

[toad a caravan]

A yellow foam pan cleaner with a patch of green abrasive should work ok without reducing the dimensions of the towball,please note other colours are available 😁

 

[Sam Vimes]

I use a 120 grade Emery Cloth then give it a spray with Brake Cleaner fluid. I also spray up into the hitch point on the caravan.

 

[Lutz]

If it’s only loose surface rust I just give the towball a wipe with a dry cloth.

 

[JTQ]

As it "developed in a few days" its only superficial and does not need so aggressive attention of abrasive papers, these are best avoided for all but serious rust removal.
As already advised in #3 a firm wipe with one of the 3M or similar aluminium oxide filled plastic mesh mat type pan cleaners is all that is needed, or as Lutz said you could just see if it wipes off with a rag cloth.

It is best removed because if not it adds to the fouling and glazing of the friction pads, reducing their useful life and adding to squealing issues.

 

[Buckman]

A bit of brake cleaner should remove the rust. I always carried a spray can of it in the car.

 

[izzy]

On our last car we had a drop down towball that locked up sideways into the bumper and it used to catch a lot of water and was even worse with a cover on so I was forever cleaning heavy rust off the thing, and then as Buckman says finish it off with brake cleaner (up onto the pads as well)
On the Kuga that we have now the ball comes out electrically and I think that it must be made of a chrome alloy (maybe not quite stainless) because it is permanently like a shiny new pin.
Love it to bits.

 

[Didi]

Thank you all for the very useful information!

 

[BattyMatty]

I usually keep a bit of wire wool in the back of the car, or maybe a scotch bright pad.

 

[borderbilly]

i use my drill with one of those wire cup thingies on it, 2 minutes and its sparkling

 

[Beachball]

I just gave the towbar a wipe down with a dry cloth if it only surface rust