CRG Discussion Forum

Camaro Research Group Discussion => Restoration => Topic started by: 69z27z87 on February 25, 2016, 05:52:54 PM

Title: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 69z27z87 on February 25, 2016, 05:52:54 PM
After degreasing my driveshaft to find the color bands (thanks leaky rear main), I want to de-rust it to return to the "natural" look it started with. I tried using Evap-rust soaked papertowels wrapped in plastic... some progress. Any one find anything better?

How do you keep the driveshaft looking "natural" after de-rusting?.. same with the yokes... hope to retain this nice look...
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: cook_dw on February 25, 2016, 06:05:56 PM
Go to lowes or Home Depot & get a 4" piece of PVC and a cap for said pipe.  Cut to desired length & cap one end.  Slide driveshaft into PVC pipe and fill will approximately 2 gal of evapo.  I used a long screwdriver and vise grips to keep it submerged as it will float.  Pull every couple of hours and wipe down and resubmerge. Keep doing this until clean. 

Caution - stripes on shaft will more than likely lift off and disappear so take excellent pics before hand that way you can duplicate it afterward.  I have used a satin clear on my blue car and on the green car I'm using Cosmoline Rust Veto in aerosol form.  Chick (68camaroz28) has this in his build thread over on TC. 
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 69z27z87 on February 26, 2016, 12:31:46 AM
I like it.... Got the pipe, need the end cap....just gotta decide how to protect....

Has anyone had to rebalance the driveshaft after all this fiddling?
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: cook_dw on February 26, 2016, 12:38:12 AM
I havent..
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 69Z28-RS on February 26, 2016, 05:14:34 AM
I like it.... Got the pipe, need the end cap....just gotta decide how to protect....

Has anyone had to rebalance the driveshaft after all this fiddling?

Re-balancing should only be necessary if the crud/rust/dirt was used in achieving the original driveshaft balance..  :)
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 68camaroz28 on February 26, 2016, 06:22:15 PM
Put the driveshaft in the tube first and then add the 2gallons with yoke going in tube first. I had a lot of paint on my yoke along with stripes. Check as Darrell mentioned but do not wipe over areas that may have paint. Have fun! Five foot piece works well.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: Mike S on February 26, 2016, 07:26:34 PM
 Clear coat I can see not being a problem, but with a spray on preservative I would think between heat and centrifugal force that the coating would quickly fling off the spinning shaft and eventually cause a film build in the tunnel.

Mike
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 69z27z87 on February 29, 2016, 05:41:59 PM
so I built my dip tank and added 1 gallon of evapo-rust.... I must say that these chemicals really are a nice piece of an evolving technology....

Now I just have to flip the shaft over and dunk the other end....

And I am going to add a Matte clear finish.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 69Z28-RS on February 29, 2016, 05:49:33 PM
Anytime I've used evaporust (or metal rescue) and only submerged 1/2 of the part at a time, it's resulted in a slightly different color in the two halves and a visible 'line' separating the two halves...
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 1968 Z28 on February 29, 2016, 06:11:07 PM
Anytime I've used evaporust (or metal rescue) and only submerged 1/2 of the part at a time, it's resulted in a slightly different color in the two halves and a visible 'line' separating the two halves...
X2.....Yup....I agree.  I always submerge  the entire piece to be derusted for that very reason.  If you plan on painting the piece the "line" wouldn't be a problem, but if you want to have the same color over the entire piece then total submersion is the only way to do that.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: cook_dw on February 29, 2016, 07:57:34 PM
X3
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 68camaroz28 on March 02, 2016, 12:39:46 AM
X4 Learned long ago not a great idea!
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: sixt9x33rs on March 02, 2016, 12:06:49 PM
so I built my dip tank and added 1 gallon of evapo-rust.... I must say that these chemicals really are a nice piece of an evolving technology....

Now I just have to flip the shaft over and dunk the other end....

And I am going to add a Matte clear finish.
I used a long piece of plumbing pipe so I could dip the entire driveshaft. You may want to get a longer piece of pipe?
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 69z27z87 on March 02, 2016, 05:53:31 PM
I had long enough pipe... just not enough evaporust... bought the last gallon the store had...

that said.. I am not disappointed...looks a lot better than what I started with.... and no one is ever going to see it once the car is on the road... but that's me.

Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: big iron on March 10, 2016, 09:11:36 PM
I want to do my 67 T400 shaft but I want to do the shaft with U joints and transmission yoke installed. The U joints are in perfect condition and do not want to destroy plastic injection used to secure the U joints by taking them apart. Do you think this process will harm the U joints?
Bob
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: Sauron327 on March 11, 2016, 01:01:10 AM
It seems that Evaporust does not produce the finish of raw material. The HAZ (Heat Affected Zone) at the yoke welds is also not present as on a new shaft. New weights also appear differently and have weld discoloration. A used shaft may be bare steel after dipping, but the only way to be 100% accurate in appearance is to have a new shaft made and kept looking as such. Once corrosion affects the metal's surface, dipping will not restore the original appearance.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: X33RS on March 11, 2016, 04:31:52 AM
Actually I thought I briefly talked about this in another thread.  You can take your original shaft with a little work and make it look just as Sauron describes.  I'll give away some restoration tricks for those that want to experiment with this at home.

The metal should actually be somewhat shiny like a new raw metal appearance.  After the evaporust treatment, I wet sand them in progression until I get a finish that is close.

To duplicate the weld discoloration, I mask the area in question and use Gun Blue repair fluid, can be bought at most sports stores like Dicks, Bass Pro etc..or any gun store...
  First mask the weld itself, rub it in by hand for a dark blue color with a rag.  Remove the tape and then tape about a 1/2" out from the weld and apply a lighter coat of gun blue rubbing it in with a piece of steel wool to provide a lighter blue appearance.   Then I lightly wet sand the outer areas of the gun blue with 2000 grit to feather out the edges as the discoloration from a weld would naturally appear, takes time and a little experimenting to get what you want but eventually you get the desired look.  You can do this around the balance weights as well.
  When finished I spray the shaft with satin clear and then apply the stripes.  When all finished you still have your original driveshaft with correct ends etc...but it will look like a brand new one that will pass most judging scrutiny. 

This process can also be used on other suspension parts that are natural metal where heat was applied.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: X33RS on March 11, 2016, 04:35:25 AM
Tip on the Evaporust if you want to save paint marks.  Don't leave the shaft soaking for more than 12 hours, 14 tops. That's usually long enough to remove the rust but more importantly it's not too long that it disturbs any factory paint markings.   Afterwards let it air dry, do not wash them down because if the paint stripes have softened at all, water will rinse them off.  I let them sit 24 hours and air dry only.  Possibly wash below and above the stripes if you wish.

I just did the entire front suspension on the Z in evaporust as described above.  Saved all the paint markings completely intact this way.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: 68camaroz28 on March 11, 2016, 12:03:58 PM
Actually I thought I briefly talked about this in another thread.  You can take your original shaft with a little work and make it look just as Sauron describes.  I'll give away some restoration tricks for those that want to experiment with this at home.

The metal should actually be somewhat shiny like a new raw metal appearance.  After the evaporust treatment, I wet sand them in progression until I get a finish that is close.

To duplicate the weld discoloration, I mask the area in question and use Gun Blue repair fluid, can be bought at most sports stores like Dicks, Bass Pro etc..or any gun store...
  First mask the weld itself, rub it in by hand for a dark blue color with a rag.  Remove the tape and then tape about a 1/2" out from the weld and apply a lighter coat of gun blue rubbing it in with a piece of steel wool to provide a lighter blue appearance.   Then I lightly wet sand the outer areas of the gun blue with 2000 grit to feather out the edges as the discoloration from a weld would naturally appear, takes time and a little experimenting to get what you want but eventually you get the desired look.  You can do this around the balance weights as well.
  When finished I spray the shaft with satin clear and then apply the stripes.  When all finished you still have your original driveshaft with correct ends etc...but it will look like a brand new one that will pass most judging scrutiny. 

This process can also be used on other suspension parts that are natural metal where heat was applied.

I talked about using gun blue several years ago (dang its been that long) and used examples of it in my build thread for the drive shaft weld and front link that was forged. My original looked like a old gun barrel and that set me off in that direction. Easy to do and as mentioned can be used in a few places.

Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: Sauron327 on March 11, 2016, 12:22:20 PM
Gun Blue is good for the center link or forged parts. I use it on numerous handcrafted steel decorative pieces. I'll airbrush the HAZ area. It may be easier than sanding the gun blue to achieve a soft edge. If you own a resto shop, then using an airbrush for certain tasks should come naturally. We used cold gun blue on the first Springfield we restored when I was a teenager. Not as good as the real process however.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: big iron on March 11, 2016, 05:03:28 PM
I want to do my 67 T400 shaft but I want to do the shaft with U joints and transmission yoke installed. The U joints are in perfect condition and do not want to destroy plastic injection used to secure the U joints by taking them apart. Do you think this process will harm the U joints?
Bob
Has anyone done a T400 shaft with U joints installed and did the Evaporust harm the U joints?
Bob
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: Sauron327 on March 11, 2016, 11:37:00 PM
Read the TDS: http://www.evapo-rust.com/product-info/technical-info/#msds According to them, it should not harm plastic or unrusted steel. At the very least I would pump a bunch of grease through the joint afterwards.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: big iron on March 12, 2016, 12:52:55 AM
T400 U joints do not have grease fittings but I thank you for your information.
Bob
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: Sauron327 on March 12, 2016, 01:06:46 AM
Was not sure about grease fittings looking at other photos on this site. I'd be concerned about contamination in any part that requires lubrication and lack of it. Not a big deal if your car is getting driven from the trailer to the show.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: X33RS on March 12, 2016, 03:50:13 AM
It doesn't harm ball joints or u-joints, however after soaking I do just as Sauron describes, I pump grease through it and all is fine.

If you don't have grease fittings in your u-joints, then I wouldn't soak them in evaporust.  No guarantee you would get all the fluid out unless you want to completely disassemble.

I did soak my Z driveshaft with the u-joints and yoke installed, however it still has it's original u-joints and I have no intention at all to put those 47 year old joints back into service so I didn't care.  They are getting changed.

I did soak all the tie rods and idler with rubber and plastic cups intact, and evaporust does no harm to those parts at all.  I'll pump grease through them and ready to go.
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: big iron on March 12, 2016, 08:06:41 PM
I want to do my 67 T400 shaft but I want to do the shaft with U joints and transmission yoke installed. The U joints are in perfect condition and do not want to destroy plastic injection used to secure the U joints by taking them apart. Do you think this process will harm the U joints?
Bob
I have come to the conclusion that there is no way to repair a T400 driveshaft and keep it original as using c clips to hold the U joints would destroy its originality.
I have decided I am going to wrap the shaft with cloth and keep them wet with Evaporust so that I can control the process around the U joints.
I am building a driver/show 67 and will have a new shaft built thus preserving the original shaft for someone that needs it.
Bob
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: Mike S on March 12, 2016, 08:40:39 PM
 Good move, Bob. As an idea, and I haven't tried this yet with my TH400 shaft, what about injecting grease using a syringe like grease gun needle? I use that for ball joints on cars with no grease fitting and slip it either under the boot of through the rubber to inject grease.
 Something like:
http://www.amazon.com/Lumax-LX-1416-Silver-Stainless-Injector/dp/B0059HJKQ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457815173&sr=8-1&keywords=grease+gun+needle

Mike
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: big iron on March 13, 2016, 01:27:54 AM
Mike,
Since I decided to have a new shaft made I probably will not work on the T400 shaft until after the 67 restoration. I do have a concern that disturbing the U joint seals may cause leakage problems. The seals rotate on the caps, and with the seals being over 40 years old they could be distorted if disturbed. The seals I have show no signs of any leakage so I would rather not try to grease them.
If your shaft is low mileage and shows no signs of leakage I would take the chance and not grease them.
Bob
Title: Re: driveshaft - de-rusting and rustproofing
Post by: X33RS on March 13, 2016, 04:01:20 AM
I want to do my 67 T400 shaft but I want to do the shaft with U joints and transmission yoke installed. The U joints are in perfect condition and do not want to destroy plastic injection used to secure the U joints by taking them apart. Do you think this process will harm the U joints?
Bob
I have come to the conclusion that there is no way to repair a T400 driveshaft and keep it original as using c clips to hold the U joints would destroy its originality.
I have decided I am going to wrap the shaft with cloth and keep them wet with Evaporust so that I can control the process around the U joints.
I am building a driver/show 67 and will have a new shaft built thus preserving the original shaft for someone that needs it.
Bob

That process works quite well Bob.  I've done exhaust systems and gas tanks in that manor.  I soak paper towels and then wrap with saran wrap for an air tight seal.  Keeps it moist for as long as you need to soak it.