Any question answered...

I've got a pair of wheels that do not have a machined braking surface. They are painted rather than anodized.

I don't care about damaging the paint.

I'd like to run them with a brake for a while. Is this a crazy idea? If doable, would certain pads work better than others?

I've done this to 3 pairs of my wheels and it's fine and no noticeable difference to MSW rims, and I just use regular pads. You might want to wait for more answers though because I dont use my brake much.