But it will let you hose off the wheel and go, as opposed to spending hours trying to keep the spokes and rim clean... A lousy day riding is better than a perfect day cleaning.  
-WD

Appliance epoxy=dig at my expense (I tend to paint over chrome, I hate trying to keep it clean). Appliance epoxy is more chip resistant than standard enamels. Not as strong as powdercoat unless baked on like powdercoat (and even then...).

I'd powder coat the whole thing. Once you hit the spoke ends with a wrench, a little leverage should (key word) crack the coating loose where they go into the rim. Again, should, in 7 years, my spokes haven't needed adjusted. So, I don't know. You could use masking tape on the spokes, have the rim and hub dusted, and pull the tape before baking, but, you might end up with polka-dotted spokes. I painted mine, with a detail brush and alkyd enamel. Not recommended, way too much like work, especially since the hubs and spokes are black, the rim center and spoke nipples bright orange...
-WD