De-rusting my drive shaft... What to preserve it with??

[69Z28-RS]

In cleaning up parts under my shed this week, in addition to find some Camaro Ralleys that I mentioned in another post, I also found a driveshaft.. which I've identified as the original one from my Camaro.  I think I posted before in the driveshaft thread that I'd cleaned and painted my original driveshaft, but I was wrong (I think that driveshaft was from my Nomad).  It's a PITB to have multiple cars disassembled! 

Anyway, as previously stated .. for the past couple of years I've been going thru the various parts/subsystems of my '69 Z28-RS, cleaning and making sure they function properly after 35 yrs of storage; repairing where necessary and *preserving*, as I'm trying to keep my car *unrestored*, but I want it to be totally functional and when I 'touch' a part, I do want to treat it so it will last.   In regards to this driveshaft..  it is covered in dust/surface rust.. so I immediately stopped at Harbor Freight and purchased a couple of gallons of EvapoRust and at Lowest to purchase the PVC tubes, caps, etc to do the 'derusting' operation (I hope to do it this weekend).

I'm curious...   If I do this (clean the rust off the driveshaft) I will want to preserve the appearance and minimize new oxidation by coating somehow..  What do you fellas recommend based on what I've said are my goals for the car?

Once it's cleaned, I'll post some before/after photos in the 'Driveshaft Study thread...

PS.  two gallons of EvapoRust ($60), 5' length of 4" PVC ($10), end caps for pvc ($8 ea)...  so putting together this 'driveshaft derusting chamber' cost about $85...

[6667ss138]

Gary, I had already thought about this same question concerning my original driveshaft when I begin to tear into my 69Z someday. I was planning on doing exactly as you have mentioned. When it comes out of the PVC, I was planning on washing off the residue with a mild dawn soap bath and then will coat it in Boeshield immediately.
I would also be curious as to what others might suggest but I've used the Boeshield extensively on many bare parts during the current restoration of my 66 Chevelle. It will leave somewhat of a shine from the wax after it has dried but I have been very pleased with how it preserves and protects from rust.
I look forward to your before and after pictures and your results after you soak it in the Evaporust.

[Mike S]

Gary,

 I've been using RPM (Rust Preventive Magic) from ECS on parts I leave natural such as steering linkage, coil springs and manual steering box
and will use it on the drive shaft too.

Len,
 
  How does Bioshield hold up to parts that get hot?

Mike

[bcmiller]

Gary are there any paint stripes still visible on the drive shaft? Do you have a measurement from the center of one u joint to the center of the other?

[sixt9x33rs]

Gary,
I have done the exact same thing with two drive shafts. One for my RS Z and the other for a car that I have sold. In both instances once I had the surface rust removed I could tell where the original stripes were. In the case of my 69 RS Z there was still original paint on the drive shaft so I photographed what went where and repainted the stripes. Once all complete I coated with Boeshield. That was five years ago and to this day I don't have any surface rust. I would think the other products suggested will work too. Good luck.

Lawrence

[X33RS]

I use Boeshield Gary with excellent results. 
   A little tip, these driveshaft tubes have a seam the entire length.  If you want to get fancy and duplicate the factory blueing affect from welding that seam when these things were new, (it may or may not be present after cleaning) I use gun blue (forget the actual name) that is available at any of your outdoor stores like Bass Pro or Dicks.  About $10 for a bottle.  I mask off what would be the seam, rub in the gun blue with a rag and wipe it off until you get the affect you want.  Remove the tape and buff on the edging with a rag to make the edge fade away.
   This can also be done where the ends were welded on too.   All this takes more time but when finished it looks like a brandy new factory shaft, coat with boeshield and done 

[BillOhio]

I have used a can and a half of rust prevention magic and wont recommend it. I started about 2 years ago and have parts starting to rust. Used it on steering box and other parts and not sure what happened. Got the car from the painter and it had done this. car has not been outside but could have been in his unheated garage a bit. I have also found where I used it on my GTX master cylinder, it looks like it melted off and ran back on the booster. I have tried to coat the parts well. I used eastwoods satin clear on my driveshaft and looking into birchwoods dri touch now. Do you have to reapply boe shield?

[6667ss138]

Len,
 
  How does Bioshield hold up to parts that get hot?

Mike
[/quote]

Mike, so far everything that I have coated with the Boeshield has held up great. No surface rust anywhere. I would add though that my car has never been out of the shop to really be exposed to a whole lot, yet. The shop I am using to restore my 66 has heat but no A/C, so its not exactly a true temperature controled shop either. We do have some pretty high humidity at times in our area.
When my new main fuel line came, it had an oxidation film on it. I used fine steel wool to remove the oxidation and then coated it with Boeshield and installed it about a year ago. Still looks great.

[Mike S]

I have used a can and a half of rust prevention magic and wont recommend it. I started about 2 years ago and have parts starting to rust. Used it on steering box and other parts and not sure what happened. Got the car from the painter and it had done this. car has not been outside but could have been in his unheated garage a bit. I have also found where I used it on my GTX master cylinder, it looks like it melted off and ran back on the booster. I have tried to coat the parts well. I used eastwoods satin clear on my driveshaft and looking into birchwoods dri touch now. Do you have to reapply boe shield?

Hi Bill,
  This is interesting to know. I pre-heat the parts in an old BBQ before applying RPM and I've often wondered how it would hold up to heat afterwards. I assume the steering box gets hot too and I suspect RPM would run or thin out. I had asked the vendor about runoff from heat and he seemed not sure. It sounds like his car is mainly a trailer queen that sees little normal usage types of temperatures other that staging the car for shows.
  As for Bioshield, I wonder if that will hold up to the heat, especially by the front yoke, as well as centrifugal forces flinging the film off.

Good topic and perfect timing :-)

Mike

[69Z28-RS]

Gary are there any paint stripes still visible on the drive shaft? Do you have a measurement from the center of one u joint to the center of the other?

Bryon, I *think* I see residue from maybe a white and a yellow stripe (partial anyway).. hopefully I can see more *better* once it's cleaned.  I did a rough measure of about 49.5 inches .. I'll measure it more accurately when it comes out of the Evaporust (I just washed the driveshaft, prepared the tube, stuck in the drifeshaft and poured in the evaporust this morning).

[BillOhio]

The tube has a name!
I use a heat gun and the parts get hot enough you dont want to touch them. The Z didnt have an engine since I installed the steering box so not sure why it was rusting. I blued the steering linkage and it was doing the same thing.  Here you can see it and where it must have cracked the powder coat

[6667ss138]

Mike, I wanted to add, I knew you were asking about friction heat, engine, exhaust etc. My restoration is in mid stream and I have not gotten to that point yet. So not sure how it will hold up long term once I get it running and things really get hot.
Good question!

[69Z28-RS]

Gary,

 I've been using RPM (Rust Preventive Magic) from ECS on parts I leave natural such as steering linkage, coil springs and manual steering box
and will use it on the drive shaft too.

Hello Mike,

I've never used/heard of this product, but googling finds me this..  Is this the exact product you purchased?  Is it available in other quantities that you would recommend instead of the 8 oz size?   From the description, it sounds perfect, but I'm skeptical usually of marketing claims..
http://www.amazon.com/RPM-Rust-Prevention-Magic-oz/dp/B00ITVG8IK/ref=sr_1_1?
ie=UTF8&qid=1449338167&sr=8-1&keywords=rust+prevention+magic

PS.  Thanks to everyone who made suggestions.  I have some Boeshield but haven't used it enough to be a proponent as yet.

[6667ss138]

I've never tried the frog lube. Found a couple youtube videos. The first guy says the frog lube protected longer than the Boeshield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blr9YiriwSM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqXi947z0Ck

[bcmiller]

Gary, length sounds right.

Stripes should be white and orange I think. Faded orange can look a lot like yellow.