My experience is its a crapshoot .......
I lace my own (and other peoples) wheels , and as Neil mentioned , with any color other than silver , it is very easy to see the scratch on the surface , you scratch aluminum/silver rims the same , but due to the color it is not noticed as much since when you scratch a colored rim , the aluminum/silver that is underneath shows thru , with a silver rim , its already that color , so its still scratched , you just don't see it as easily till you are up closer ....
With that said , it is a time consuming job (takes me about a hour from start to finish) , but I am cheap and on a budget , and I like working on my bikes , which is why I started lacing my own ..... another downside is the color will fade over time , especially if the bike is sitting either in the sun , or in the light from a window in the shop/garage .... I have done Pro Wheels , and Tusk and DID and Excel .... They all fade , how long depends on conditions
This is my 06 450X , note that the rear rim is black and the front a bronze color ..... they are both black Pro Wheels installed/laced at the same time (around 2006).... difference being the front wheel was near a window and the sunlight did this within a few months
This is my 02 450R , again black Pro Wheels , both got equal sun exposure and I personally like the color , its a cross between black and gold rims (the same bronze that black wheels turned on my 450X)
Also note that I Anodized (you asked about Anodizing) my fork tubes on both bikes , Anodized by a shop that specializes in Anodizing ..... note that the fork tubes on my 450X still looks quite black while the tubes on my 450R look a bit faded , and are starting to look like the rims , which they eventually will ... The difference in the 2 bikes being my X sits in the shop the majority of the year while my R is ridden most every weekend so it is out in the sun more than in the shade ..... So Anodizing to save money is not going to give a different result , it will only be a cost difference ....
.... note that Red wheels will turn pink or a shade of it , gold will fade to silverish , but seem to last the longest as far as holding their original color , blue tends to go the way of Dark Gray , green turn a shade of yellow-er green.....The time it takes this to happen varies from a few months to several years
On a side note ... I want a newer CRF450 , what I will mostly end up with is the 2019/20 mainly due to the black wheels and the other improvements they made from the 17/18 .... but the black wheels are a major factor ..... even though I could lace my own , that also means I have to buy them to lace them .... which is a extra expense of around $200 give or take
Bottom line , if your budget allows and you are not confident of your lacing skills (there is a video here of doing it) then go ahead and purchase the extra set .... the plus side is , you will have a extra set of wheels that you can install either a different set of tires for different track/terrains , and/or you have a set for play and a set for racing/practice and won't be wearing out your tires as fast
EDIT: it looks like the pictures of lacing the wheel in the write up here is missing all the pictures..
https://www.crfsonly.com/forum/viewtopi ... ls#p115400 ... So I found a Rocky Mountain ATV video , that will give you the basics , if you feel like tackling it , this should get you thru it
EDIT EDIT: I forgot to mention I also have a black Tusk Impact wheel that I laced up to a black Anodized stock hub ...... it has not faded yet as it sits in the shop pretty much 80% of the time (been almost a year) ..... though it does show signs of wear at the bead of the rim from the tire compressing and rubbing the rim (this happens to all MX wheels) so it has a slight silver streak at the lip of the rim ...no biggie , but just so you know , even "normal" wear will cause the Anodizing to rub thru ..... and Powdercoating , will do the same ... bike wheels take more abuse than car/truck rims , so they just show the wear much faster
But again , I want the 19/20 just because of the wheels .... So if you go into this with the knowledge that the wheels will look not as good in a year or so , then go for it ...... I would , but I would lace my own , but if the price was right and within the budget , I would buy wheels already setup as well ....
, if they get scratched up , just look from farther back and they will still look good ....
, or bust out the sharpie before every ride to fool everyone that does not look closely enough to notice the scratches