[flybouy]

I had a factory hitch on a Dodge truck back in the 1980's that looked much like that. Was going to weld it, took a disk grinder to it and chunks of paint flaked off. Turned out the paint didn't adhere properly. The paint cracked at the corners and began to surface rust at the corners giving an appearance of metal fatigue. Cleaned it up, hit it with rustoleum and it was good for the next few years that I had it.