I have little desire to maintain originality. That said I regret not painting my new manual transmission. The natural aluminum looks fine thankfully. I would have painted it aluminum. Not so much for the color, but to somewhat fill the pores and give it a slick surface for easier cleaning. If I had a used transmission I would have definitely cleaned it up and painted it for the looks. I still would have used an aluminum color. On a related topic, I put in a 350 Chevy crate engine. I wish I had painted it Pontiac blue, instead it's black.