I had mine blasted, and the finish is pretty rough, i was going to have them powdercoated and got a couple quotes, one was 380... and the other was 180 considering they were already blasted and spotless. While at supercheap the other day they had a special on the 3M pressure pack paints, so i got some metal primer, which is no where near thick enough to bring up a smooth finish, even when i sanded it back. And some matte black paint. i reckon you would need 3 cans of primer...
Anyways, another mate said he could paint them for me at work for nothing so im going with that. he seems to think that the finish will be quite smooth and thick and shouldnt chip. If you have the money to throw away at it though i would get it powdercoated.