I painted the switches on my Hofner CT. You can't even tell they are painted and they are not all gunked up either. You just need to unscrew the plate, remove the tea cups, take the plate off and tape up the switches, prime and paint using very thin coats. Stand far back as not to put on a heavy coat that will run. I did 1 coat of primer, and 2 coats and all of the detail is there...looks perfect. I've also got a German Hofner to compare to and the switches looks the same now. Easy if you take your time.
Oh and I almost forgot...take a q tip and clean them first with alcohol. Those switches are molded plastic and most certainly have a bit of release agent residue and should be cleaned... Do this before you prime... most important..... light coats... It shouldn't rub off unless you are rough with your switches or don't prime them properly. Many others have done this with good results. The paint I used was auto paint used for plastic and vinyl applications.
