Well I removed the driveshaft to insert a new drive gear inside the tail of the tranny. Decided that I was going to paint it and have it balanced so I grinded away all the rust, sanded it clean, Metal Washed it, and then placed a nice coat of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator Black Primer on it. Now I need to know what to do about the paint? Will a 'Engine Paint 500 degree' work for this application? The reason I ask is the driveshaft hovers over the H pipe and is only a few inches away from each 2.5" exhaust pipe as well. I don't want all my hard work bubbling up.
BTW, anyone getting a hair up their butt to do this be prepared to spend a 3+ DIRTY HOURS removing all the rust!

While using a high temp paint won't hurt anything, I feel it is not needed on the driveshaft since it is not "heat prone". The distance from teh "H" pipe still allows cool air to circulate.

Thanks Codi, I understand what you are saying, but I went ahead and sided on the precaution of just incase the heat causes the paint to bubble. You would think that 3" distance would keep the heat transfer away but who knows, I guess it all depends on the paint.
Went with Krylon Engine Enamel 500 degrees GM/RedOrange
We'll see how it turns out. I need to install these new Brute Force Neapco U Joints first, then have the unit balanced, then I'll put on 3 coats of paint!

Hey Brian,

I also cleaned up & installed new u-joints in my driveshaft when I swapped my PG for a new Th350.

I just moved a stand mounted grinder/wire wheel combo out into the middle of the shop floor and started knocking the rust off the driveshaft. As Brian said, be prepared for this to take a while to finish.

Also, it's probably best to wear a dust mask as I did or a respirator mask so that you aren't inhaling the rust particles.

Although I didn't get every bit of rust off, I got the vast majority of it. Then I just painted it with krylon semi-gloss black paint for a factory fresh look. I was pleased with how much better it looked. I'll have to crawl under the car and check how the paint is holding up.

Good luck,
Mark P.

I used Eastwood Detail Gray (non high-heat paint) on mine and it has held up well.

That eastwood grey is great stuff isn't it. Looks good and durable as heck. I spray suspension parts including bolt heads and was torquing them down within 30 minutes of painting. Didn't chip or scuff a bit.

Chances are the driveshaft will be covered with goo before the paint burns off. But I agree with Codi. I doubt you'll have any problem with any good paint.

-dnult

i have always been under the impression that engine paints need the heat from the engine to fully cure- if it doesn't get hot enough, it might never fully harden up and will be easily damaged. and i don't know it putting 3 coats of paint on an already balanced driveshaft is a good idea, unless you can get it perfectly even and not throw the balance out of whack. just a little imbalance will have you replacing totally unrelated parts until you decide to get the driveshaft checked out.

I just picked up my balanced driveshaft from Powertrain Industries (www.powertrainindustries.com) who is probably one of the largest outfits here in Orange County who does driveshafts. I asked them about painting it, he said there is no way paint is going to change the balance any and that if I wanted to place 6 coats on it that it would not matter. Just to doublecheck, I called Drivetrain Inc in South Orange County and they confirmed the same. So needless to say there is no worry when it comes to painting a balanced shaft.
I went ahead with the Chevy OrangeRed Engine Enamel just to play it safe. Cures in '5 days' without any heat. I put about 5 even coats on the whole thing, will install it tomorrow and try it out!

I sandblasted my drive shaft, took a lot less then three hours. ;)

Then Cast blast original. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I bought a Denny's drive shaft. The painting was around $350 but the driveshaft was free!

Seriously, I don't think engine paint is necessary.

But I notice on Platicote there is no mention of heat being needed for curing. POR15 engine paint does, however, require engine heat to cure.