I don't think rods were painted on most RRs. I think they were bare steel. Some surfaces machined and some rough castings. The rough surfaces tended to gather more grease adn dirt and look black, like between the raised edges. the smooth surfaces tended to be steel with a coating of oil to avoid rust. The steel color and the oil may look like a different color in differnt light
So I use Neo-Lube. And if you do put neo-lube on it, you can't paint over the Neo-lube. Neo-lube is an liquid with fine graphite mixed in. I think it might be an alchohol base. In any rate, it is a lubricant, and I doubt paint will stick to it.
