I purchased a can of "glitter" in red from the local craft store, let the paint dry for a day and sprayed it on. I held the can about 12 to 14 inches away from the tins. Kind of like an over spray. When I was happy with the coverage I let it sit for about an hour and started the clear coat.
What kind of paint did you use? I am planning on rattle canning my bike soon and heard good things about dupli-color so was thinking about going with that.
thats what I used. I would use it agene. I read where you should use all the same brand. when I needed more paint, NAPA got me 5 cans. you can find almost anywhere. stuff sprays real nice too.