driveshaft paint

[Richard Pressley]

The previous owner of my '67 painted the driveshaft and yokes. To remove the paint,should I have them bead blasted or just use paint remover? Once clear, what,if anything, should I put back on the pieces to protect from rust?

[Jack H.]

Depends on your objective....

If it's to enter Flight, judges will look for presense of any 'foreign' coating and deduct accordingly as factory original drive shafts were NOT painted/coated and judges will look for characteristic 'rainbow' where yokes were welded to the shaft + fresh extrusion look (absense of pit).

If you use blast cabinet (man that's a BIG/LONG *****!) to remove existing paint, you'll probably raise pit in the process and defeat your factory concours effort(s). Those vying for top honors in restored class judging typically cut replacement shafts from fresh extruded stock. Trick is balancing because the factory original balancing weights (size/geometry) are a little tough to come by....

You could coat with something non-obtrusive like Krylon Semi-Matte Clear, but the paint will spot/chip with any appreciable time on the road driving due to airborne particle abrasion.

[Patrick H.]

Re: driveshaft paint

Richard,

I'd try the paint remover first and check the condition of the driveshaft metal underneath. If it's in good shape, some 0000 steel wool may be all that's needed to shine it up.

If you find that it's rusty or pitted, you can always bead blast it. The rule of thumb is to try the least harsh method first, because you can always get more aggressive.

Patrick

[Gary B.]

Driveshaft restoration

Richard,

Also bear in mind that bead blasting, sanding, and even perhaps the use of 0000 steel wool can remove all traces of the longitudinal seam weld along the length of the driveshaft. In trying to restore some mid-year halfshafts and a drive shaft, I did just that. I also cut apart one of my original '66 halfshafts and driveshaft and these seam welds are still perfectly clear and virgin on the inside of the tubes. I think the only halfshafts that should no show signs of the longitudinal weld are the heavy duty one that were shot peened by GM.

I would certainly try the paint remover first, but don't be surprised if there is no indication of a longitudinal seam weld since the previous person who painted the driveshaft may have removed all traces of the weld by sanding before he or she painted it.

Gary