Painting differential

I'm going to shortly be swapping out the diff with a whole replacement unit and was thinking about painting the original one while it's out. I just wanted to check if it's ok to paint the whole thing, or if the aluminium back with the fins should be left bare for heat dissapation? I assume that's what the fins are for and why it's made of aluminium, not steel?

I was also going to HPC it, but that would be counter productive I assume, since there's no reason to keep the heat in etc.?

 

Check tech Section under Everything -> Differential -> Diff Oil Seal Replacement someone there painted theirs.

I would probably just stick with primer and paint, maybe get larger back cover (not sure if its worth it, Check Chrispy's Diff upgrade tech writeup for that) and keep it plain aluminium easier to clean

 

powder coat maybe?

 

i just primed and painted last time i done leader gears. never had a problem.
and just sand blasted the end

 

Yeah, was thinking the end I could just sand blast and paint the main section in paint from a can. I don't want it mirror finish, just one solid colour since it doesn't exactly get seen often

Does powder coating differ from spray paint much in terms of insulating properties?

 

That's what I was looking at anoticed he only painted the main, not the end cap. Was thinking it was cause the end is a heatsink.

 

I dont think paint affects it that much, not as much as a coating. I would be more worried about making it a slightly rough surface with sandpaper so the paint can stick... If not perhaps the paint may flake off over time if its a smooth surface. That with all those fins probably might be more of a pain?

 

I haven't looked yet, but I don't want to imagine how much grime etc. is caked on after 20 yrs of use. Now thinking i'll just sand blast it, would only take 30 seconds once I've removed most of the buildup, then use caliper or engine enamal paint from supercheap. I'll probably leave the back end unpainted, depending on how much buildup it has. If there's lots, I'll paint that too, since it obviously hasn't failed in all this time.