Paint or Not To Paint - Transmission & Diff

I'm considering painting (or at the very least polishing and coating with Sharkhide) my T56 transmission/bellhousing and IRS Diff housing. I know there are a few that have done this. I'm looking for your experience and guidance:


What paint/process did you use?
Was it worth the effort?
How has yours held up after driving the car?
Did you need to do any additional touch-up or maintenance later?


My diff is in the car now (and as some can imagine) I'd prefer to paint it where it sits. The trans & bellhousing is still boxed up so plenty of flexibility there.


Pics would be great. Thanks in advance.

Personally I’d paint them cause as Kleiner says, “Not a waxer”! But it’s your car, so do what makes you happy!

My opinion, for what it's worth. They do look good painted. Well, until they get chipped up, which will happen. However, you will never see those parts unless your car is up on a lift.

Polishing? You must have more time on your hands than I can imagine. Would look good. But who is going to see it. I polished my engine bay panels. Looks good. No one notices but me. A HUGE effort that I don't think I would do again.

If you are thinking of Sharkhide, I don't know if it could take the heat. Transmissions and differentials do get hot.

Far into nerdsville.....one downside I can think of is that the layer of paint or Sharkhide will make them run a little hotter. Probably not enough for anything measurable in the real world though.

From a practical standpoint it is a waste of effort. But, who ever built a Cobra to be practical?

I was considering POR 15 thinking if it is good enough for brake calipers it should be good enough for the trans/diff. Might be a whole lot quicker to brush that on instead.

On my builds, I've cleaned up and sprayed the transmission and oil pan with Dupli-Color EDE163607 Ceramic Clear Engine Paint before installation. Did the same with my Mk3 on the aluminum bell housing. (Others were powder coated QuickTimes, so nothing there.) I've used POR15 on the diffs, and the same Duplic-Color clear on the rear covers. I'm not under there polishing (well not very often...) but I've found they stay cleaner. When I do wipe them off, easy with the added finish. Would be a little hard and maybe not worth the effort though if already installed. I've been using that same Dupli-Color for a number of years. It sprays out really nice, dries fast, and seems to hold up.

Guess its something to do but 3 years later my DD trans TKO-600 looks just fine without any coating. Could see it on a show car where you were tying in color & putting mirrors under the car to show it off.:rolleyes:

Did succumb to putting a FORD Racing alloy cover with a girdle on the rear end.

I’ve done a bellhousing and trans in the POR15. That area doesnt get direct sunlight, so it should last quite a long time and the coating is tough as nails. Yeah, no one would see it but you most of the time, but if it brings a smile to your face just knowing the bottom looks as good as the top, then that’s all that matters. Get it done!