In my experience, paint is generally more forgiving that powder coat also. If you mess up paint, you scuff it up and respray it. If you mess up powder coat, it is much harder to remove.
When you powder coat metal and stick it in the oven, the heat of the baking process can bring out oil and grime "buried" in the metal. To avoid this, many people "pre-bake" parts to bring those impurities out prior to coating it. This helps, but does not always eliminate the problem. I tried coating one of my wheels three different times and still did not get good results. I finally gave up and painted it and had no issues. There is also some debate about heating this old metal up and if it weakens it or not.
The good things about powder coat is its durability. It is hands down more durable than most paints. Either method is great for different applications.
