It is different for E-body cars than it is for B-Body's? My 69 Runner had black springs but I don't know if they were painted or if they were black from the tempering process? It did not seem like the black would flake off or scrape off. I used Eastwood's zinc phosphate spray paint on mine and it gave them a dark, natural steel look rather than a painted look. I left the clamps natural and just clear coated them with a satin clear. If you look at the side view of my car in the photos on the attached signature, you can get a good idea of how the springs look. No one ever suggested that they looked incorrect but I've seen them done differently on some other cars.