can polished aluminum wheels be painted.

Short answer yes. you will have to scuff them up and id prime and paint. then clear.

Or just have them powde rcoated.

this will help you....the answer is YES,but should be done right...want better results than you could do..here ya go..Chicago Wheel Exchange..888.603.0110..Elk Grove Village,Il..They did my work...I did my wheels myself,lasted for years,but wanted powdercoat...

scuff with 320? thanks

I painted a set of 5 spoke wheels black and had them on my one of 4thgen z28's and ran them for 3 summers and 3 winters with out chipping etc. I didn't even scuff them up all i did was use a high quality wax and grease remover cleaned them till i didnt pick up any more dirt etc... then used some fleet farm brand primmer, paint and clear. The clear is what really adds the protection i think i laid down 3 coats of clear. Seemed to work just fine i think if was looking at keeping a set of wheels id have them powder coated.

if ur gonna do em yourself..Get red 3m scuff pad(auto parts store)..for metal sanding, it forms around bend parts,unlike sandpaper....Get degreaser,and spray it on....Rinse,dry,mask areas,and prime....you should use one stage paint for painting and clearcoating.....did mine this way and lasted for years..only recently had redone with powdercoat....

yeah I skuffed with about 320 or so and primed it first then used a heavy duty spray paint. Worked well on my drag wheels.