Towbar tidy up

[TonyAsh]

The towbar on my towing vehicle, (VW Caravelle), was fitted by the dealer at the time of ordering the vehicle new in 2001.

I was dismayed to realise upon delivery that the towbar had been fitted in black primer paint only and very quickly rust patches began to appear, I painted all visible areas with Hammerite and have kept touching up when neccessary.

My plan is to remove the towbar and have it shotblasted and plastic coated by a local company.

I am not concerned that the rust has penetrated the steel to a dangerous condition, it just looks terrible and spoils the look of the VW.

My question is: should I replace all fixing bolts and nuts, or just the nuts - is it false economy to skimp at this stage?

 

[maxtherotti]

at this age i would defo replace all bolts with the correct new ones

also replace all washers and nuts too

 

[keith5]

I would have it shotblasted, prime it with red oxide paint, twice, and re-paint it but I don't rate Hammerite for road use.

I'd use Simoniz tough black acrylic, which is widely used in the trade.

Plastic coatings look great, but even the slightest hole in the plastic,like one caused by a random bit of gravel coming off the road, and water will get behind it and you'll have the problem all over again. So the plastic coating option would be one I would give a miss.

Like Rob, I too would replace the securing Nuts, washers and bolts.

 

[Philspadders]

The best way to treat this is to take it your local powder coating company.. ask them the shotblast it,phosphate dip, then primerpaint and finally use an epoxy powder coat. You could even choose a colour that matches your car.