Gentlemen, This is the type of guidance us newbies need in order to be truly intergated with club expectations regarding restoration of our beloved steeds, and I think I may have a solution. I was about to send off my stripped Shrike to the powdercoaters , when I fortunately read Chris's brilliant piece. I promptly cancelled said trip and slung the chassis onto the bowsprit of my 70' schooner,(another resto) to help with the ageing and serious pitting of the chassis, before sloshing it with hammerite Thing is, how long should it be left in order to get that real 60's look ??
I don't know how long you should need to leave the Shrike to "weather" but if you refrain from using yacht varnish annually on your schooner, then it will soon return to that attractive period rustic distressed patena so beloved of our stick waggling colleages
Actually you could try fogging oil, we use it on our deck gear, winches etc. engine room maintenance, it does keep rust at bay, trouble is it does attract dust, but at least it can be wiped off and lightly buffed.
Thanks Ian but I was hoping for a more permanent solution - I notice that 911 Hillclimber (sorry, just a bit of fun Graham!) is considering staining his rusty axle with "Kurust" which leaves a dark gunmetal colour (as opposed to the shiny bright finish I am looking for) However, this may offend some of his fellow Class 4 resto purists as the correct procedure I believe is to wash frequently with soapy saline solution and leave outside untill the desired pitted patina is achieved. This gives the added period feature of welding the bearings to the axle for true authenticity.
The Victorians did a lot of metal polishing and some of the Arts & Craft lot got one hell of a shine on bare steel decorative panels, perhaps a search of antique type stuff might yield results, although I seem to think that it was just polish, or to quote Silverstripes OOOOOH loverly polish.
I have cleaned an axle to bright on a CRG I have. I then gave it a coat of acrylic lacquer. Its been done since june and not a spot of rust and no dust clings like oil.
Not sure about getting it back out through the bearing but it was only a thin coat but is doing the job
All this has prompted me to offer you lucky readers a combined a storage and patination service.
For a huge consideration I am willing to store your kart between the sand blast cabinet (which constantly oozes dust) and the polishing machine, there is a convenient roof leak at that point. Any pristine kart stored in this deluxe spot will quickly develop a 'just found' appearance accurately replicating decades of barn/shed/garden storage. Why wait months or even years when you can have your Kart degrade in just a few days.
Or, for the namby pamby ones amongst you, I find that the occasional wipe with WD40 (other products are available) keeps rust at bay.
Joking apart... Any product that keeps the air off steel does the job.
There was a product sold by the boys and girls that manufacture the 'Carcoon' storage system that was also suitable for spraying onto brakes. (can't remember the specific product name though)
The product sold by Carcoon storage was indeed very good. It is called C.S.P. Spray - I used it on the bare metal items on my Brabham BT20 and on the Bugatti T59 polished steel front axle and other bare metal items - it works very well - its about £8 per 400ml aprox spray can. I have a couple spare if you want to try the stuff and cant get any. I was thinking of producing carcoon type covers for Historic Karts also.... Seriously, they probably need this type of protection ore than the general Classic Cars - its just a little costly.... - Personally I have always preferred 'Double TT spray' for bare metal, it leaves a fine film and is great for rainy day events.
Eureka ! I have it !....................................hooray !!!!!
Thanks very much indeed and very, very timely too, I am just about to fit my axle to the JEB project now that I have my frame back from the stove enamellers and my chrome bits back also, this took over 11 bloody weeks ! (longest wait/period of my life - luckily nothing went missing, phew) ( oops, pardon my French )
, when I fortunately read Chris's brilliant piece. I promptly cancelled said trip and slung the chassis onto the bowsprit of my 70' schooner,(another resto) to help with the ageing and serious pitting of the chassis, before sloshing it with hammerite 
- Personally I have always preferred 'Double TT spray' for bare metal, it leaves a fine film and is great for rainy day events.
( oops, pardon my French 
)