Re: Painting Aluminum
 

we used that on our robot cart this year and there were a few problems with it:
1.) alot of prep work to follow the directions so it is bad for large objects.
2.) it is very runny and hard to get an even coat.
3.) it comes off way to easy, just a slight rub and it will come right off.

So i would only recomend it for small parts that wouldnt get hit or abused much

and u have a limited amount of colors: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and a silver primer they have so u can do it on wood

Re: Painting Aluminum
 

in response to the original question, or for future use,
you can use tail light paint for cars, it lets light through while tinting it a certain color, i beleive some rc car paints work the same way

Re: Painting Aluminum
 

We had the telescoping arms on our robot anodized blue this year. As for retaining the gloss, it's not 100% shiny, but it still has some shine to it. Look here and here for a few examples of what it looks like.