Tow ball coatings

[iainwiththesterling]

I have just got a new car (Touareg) with a factory fitted tow bar. This seems to have a painted finish. I know all coatings should generally be removed from tow balls but this is a very hard and seemingly thin finish which would have been electrostatically applied and I am wondering whether to remove it or not.

Any thoughts gratefully received!

Iain

 

[PaulT]

Hi, yes you do. This will be a very smooth coating and the Alko (or similar) stabiliser needs a rougher finish to work properly.

 

[Damian]

Yes, the coating must be removed or it will contaminate the friction pads in the hitch stabiliser.
Also, it MUST be an extended neck towball to allow correct movement of the hitch around the ball.

If you have the standard short neck towball, it will cause severe damage to the hitch.

 

[Craigyoung]

Iron wool or sandpaper and a few minutes is all you need !

 

[Jules_ht]

I used a wire wheel attachment on my drill and it was still hard going getting all the paint off!

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Iron wool or sandpaper and a few minutes is all you need !

... plus a LOT of elbow grease when I did mine.