Hi BHG,
Haven't seen you around for a while. Hope the project is going well.
The mouldings were originally buffed & matt clear anodized. A fairly durable & not high gloss finish.
If you are not that much into originality, they can be filed to remove gouges, sanded, & buffed to remove flaws.
Clear coat paint does not usually hold up well. Clear powder coat might work well, either with gloss or matt metal surfaces. I haven't actually tried it. I wouldn't suggest a matt finish without some type of coating as it will show every finger print/smudge.
I personally just removed the flaws, & buffed. The bare aluminum does require frequent cleaning/polishing however. Probably much more attention than the original finish required. If I were more ambitious, I would try very light glass beading & clear powder coating after the flaws were removed. Or maybe satin powder coating.
A seldom used factory option was covering them with upholstery material.
There are likely other ideas that will come up, I would be interested to know what others have done also.
D