ive used the paint method with great success. 2 winters now on my daily driven truck. what i did was sandblasted the factory clear coat as best i could. you could also just sand them with paper or an angle grinder. i went to canadian tire and picked up 2 cans of self etching primer, works good for aluminium wheels. 2 cans of dupli-color wheel paint. and 2 cans of dupli-color clear coat. i didnt use the clear coat but i would just for some extra protection.
read the can for instructions. but i ended up with 2 coats primer, 2 coats paint, 2 coats clear. easy touch ups and under 60$ for all cans of primer and paint. much cheaper then powdercoating. and its an easy project. i do recommend removeing tires from rims but it can be done with tires on too.