looks like mine was done previously with a por-15 type of junk. just not as durable. are you guys painting it? coating it with something? don't want to pull it out right now just make it more presentable. its black now.
POR-15 is as durable as you are going to get as far as paint is concerned. POR-15 is nearly as durable as powder coating. Prep the surface as directed in the POR-15 directions and apply the POR-15 and it will last longer then 99% of the paint you will find.
I use Hammertone by Rustoleum, goes on good, even if not perfectly clean, and pretty tough by paint standards. If you are going to flat tow with towbar that rides on the front beam, you will want to be able to touch up easily.