VERY nice job!!! It's better than new! I have painted mine 2 or 3 times in the 12 years we have had it, and have had good luck with Ace Hardware brand epoxy paint. I also went with black, the factory orange is just obnoxious!
Powdercoating if done correctly should be a very durable finish...I'm not sure what they do at Hensley factory, but my hitch was the same as yours, flaking off in sheet. I brushed off the loose stuff and then sanded, but didn't get down to bare metal all around.
The last time I checked the bearings was probably 3 years ago and the grease was in good shape with no sign of water incursion so I didn't repack them.
Enjoy the new hitch, you got a heckuva deal and did a heckuva job restoring it!
