Correct color for propeller shaft
 

Was it bare metal or black from the factory? I saw the post from April and am going to do the stripes (my 66 shop manual confirmed the correct colors for the 4 speed stripes). I just media blasted mine and am ready to either clear coat it or paint it black. Thanks in advance.

Bare.

A little bit of chassis black overspray might have gotten on one side of it while they were spraying some of the other assembled chassis components.

K

Thank you for the reply.

I would not clear it. Anything I have cleared over the years always rusted back in short order. I would either paint it in cast paint or use some of the 'rub' on stuff that is on the market. This is what a lot of restorers use on their concours restorations. It works good for front suspension items such as sway bar, tie rod ends, etc.

Maybe someone else will know and post a link for that product.

I used cast color spray paint on a few things like the sway bar. I don't know if that paint will prevent rust any better than clear, except maybe it will hide it since it is color. I ended up just spraying clear on it. I media blated it several times with crushed glass, then sanded with 100, then sanded with 220, cleaned and sprayed clear. I figure I'll spray the stripes on and use a brush to give them a brushed on appearance. I'm guessing the drive shaft manufacturer applied the stripe with a brush while it was on a lathe.

That is correct (actually, while the shaft was on the balancer. After the balancing operation was complete the operator would turn the shaft by hand while holding the paintbrush).

K

I ended up painting it cast color and then added stripes. I had to get a new propeller shaft as the end was not straight on the other one. Luckily I found one local in So California that has been in a garage since the 60s. Perfectly straight, no dings, scrapes, etc.