Can I paint a thermo fan clutch??

Can I spray paint a fan clutch like this one? My 2 concerns:

1. insulating and screwing up the calibration of the mystery goo inside that turns the fan on, by insulating it with primer/paint.

2. locking up the clutch mechanism with paint (like an old window).

I plan on putting a nice bead of grease on the junction between 'stem' and 'clutch' to help allay concern #2.

Whay say ye?

 

I've done it many times with no side effects!

maybe just dumb luck on my part

but I can't/ haven't seen any harm and its been years on some of them...

 

I would not paint the spring on the back. Other than that I see no problem