Powder coating Drive shaft
 

Just wondering if this could create an imbalance on the shaft. Who has tried this?

shouldnt be a problem if its applied evenly.. but if it does cause an issue can always have the shaft rebalanced.

Whether or not you'll have a problem would be dictated by how evenly the coating is applied. A longer shaft will have more propensity to be out of balance.

If I was going about doing this, I'd simply plan on having it rebalanced after the powerdcoating is finished.

Some drive-shafts are so finely tuned for balance that the final assembly sticker is strategically placed as to complete the final balance on the shaft. So it doesn't take much to pull it out of balance.

Powder coating drive shaft
 

So could media blasting the shaft to paint it cause an imbalance also? Paint that is unevenly applied? Holy cow, never knew these things were that finely balanced.

Modern shafts are definitely very finely balanced. On my 2007 Mustang GT/CS, I encountered a vibration after swapping to a 4.10 ring and pinion. On those cars the drivetrain is balanced as a complete unit from the transmission to the rear-end.

In an effort to get rid of the vibration after the gear change I clocked the driveshaft 180 degrees from it's original position (which helped slightly). There was a sticker on the driveshaft stating if it was dropped, it should be replaced. Not inspected for damage, not repair if damaged, replaced.

When you've got a big heavy tube rotating at several thousand RPM, small discrepancies in weight start to add up. It may not be a reliability or safety detriment to the shaft itself, but it could cause a significant driver annoyance.

EDIT: I realize here that if you're wanting to paint or powdercoat the shaft, you might be doing so because it's going in a higher end show car, one which may not be driven all the time. If the car is a concourse car that gets driven seldom, and likely never at speeds over a moderate cruise, it probably doesn't matter. It's the car that will be driven often at city and highway speeds that this becomes more of a concern.

Every steel driveshaft I have seen is balanced before painting since the balancing weight needs to be welded to she shaft. Paint and/or decals would have a negligible impact to the balancing in my opinion.

Powder coating Drive shaft
 

Car in question is a 66 GTO convertible undergoing a very detailed frame off restoration. It will be driven like an old lady school teacher. Rarely over 60 mph.

Powder coating Drive shaft
 

Car in question is a 66 GTO convertible undergoing a very detailed frame off restoration. It will be driven like an old lady school teacher. Rarely over 60 mph.

I would balance it before painting or powdercoating.

You will be fine most Co's that sell driveshafts come powdercoated.

I hand painted my Strange driveshaft received in bare metal for my race car and have no vibration shifting at 6700 rpm.

Why powder coat, just paint it and put the stripes on it.