Drive/half shaft finish

[Michael L.]

Guys,

I'm working on my drive/half shafts and would like some opinions on the finish up to now. I have read the previous posts on the subject but I'm still a little unclear. I have a small block car so I am under the impression that the shafts are supposed to be a somewhat shiny natural finish. I have attached some pics of both the drive shafts and half shafts for your input. Also, I have read about the reproduction of the HAZ using metal blackening solution, but I have been experimenting with this and my results have been dismal. Could my solution be too old (2-3 yrs) or is it not the correct brand (Eastwood Metal Blackening solution)? Is there something better?

Appreciate your comments,
Mike

[Rich P.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

Mike,

I use the eastwood stuff with very good results. You can vary the shade with both the concentration of the mix and amount of time you let the part soak.

Also a little trick you can do is to use gun blue on the welds to make it appear to have the original weld discoloration.

Rich

[Joe C.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

Guys,

I'm working on my drive/half shafts and would like some opinions on the finish up to now. I have read the previous posts on the subject but I'm still a little unclear. I have a small block car so I am under the impression that the shafts are supposed to be a somewhat shiny natural finish. I have attached some pics of both the drive shafts and half shafts for your input. Also, I have read about the reproduction of the HAZ using metal blackening solution, but I have been experimenting with this and my results have been dismal. Could my solution be too old (2-3 yrs) or is it not the correct brand (Eastwood Metal Blackening solution)? Is there something better?

Appreciate your comments,
Mike

Michael,

Although the polished finish applied by Quanta and others is very nice, it is not at all like the original finish. The shaft is made from cold rolled steel, which is then formed into a tube and longitudinally welded. The original surface texture is closer to that of ordinary black iron pipe than a polished finish.

Mine are protected with clearcoat, and still look like new after 8 humidity filled years.

Joe

[Michael L.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

Joe,

Where did you get yours? Did you do them yourself? I plan on clear coating mine when I'm done, and I think I'm reaching the limit of what I can do from an artistry standpoint, unless someone comes through with a revelation. I will have to settle for the somewhat shiny/polished look. After a couple of months on the car and the difficulty getting under there to see them, I hope they will be judged as adequate.

Mike

[Michael L.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

Rich,

Do you know if there is an expiration date on this stuff? My Eastwood metal blackening solution just seems to make my stuff look like a charoal grey. Even after clearing (as specified in the inst.) it stll doesn't look like a truly factory metal black to me. Am I expecting to much? Is this supposed to reproduce black phosphate and I am expecting black oxide? Is there even a difference in these two finishes? Thanks for the gun blue tip, I will give that a try as well.

Mike

[Joe C.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

Joe,

Where did you get yours? Did you do them yourself? I plan on clear coating mine when I'm done, and I think I'm reaching the limit of what I can do from an artistry standpoint, unless someone comes through with a revelation. I will have to settle for the somewhat shiny/polished look. After a couple of months on the car and the difficulty getting under there to see them, I hope they will be judged as adequate.

Mike

Mike,

I had mine done by Quanta, and clear coated them after I got them home.

I would not do this again. I would do the best I can myself, if there ever is a next time.

Don't knock yourself out in trying to reproduce the blue weld discoloration. Why? The tube finish is itself incorrect, so why try to put a weld discoloration on it. JMHO.

The only way that I know (unless somebody else has a process that I don't know about) to restore a driveshaft, is to have a driveshaft shop fabricate a new one for you using your original yokes.

[Mike M.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

I think Bairs will use your original yokes and make new tubes.

[Edward J.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

Mike. I Did My Drive Shafts On My Sm. Block, Used Masking Tape On The Seams W/metal Blackning( It Is Grayish Color But I Beleive Thats The Closet You Can Get) And For The Blueing Process I Took A Torch And Turned Down Temp Setting And Slowly Rotated Shaft And Came Out Great Then Used A Stain Clear To Protect The Shafts, Its Looks Natural And Is Protected From Rusting

[Joe C.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

I think Bairs will use your original yokes and make new tubes.

What are you doing here.
I thought that you were talkin BBQ smokers in the other joint.

[Steve L.]

Re: Drive/half shaft finish

I always wondered why nobody just used a torch. After all, it was the original weld heat that created the HAZ, so a torch shouldn't hurt anything is you don't cook it too much. So why bother going through all this paint hassle?