Tech inspection questions

Don't grind or sand the welds down, I don't think paint will matter at all.
So my son got the 10 point cage welded in, subframe connectors and welded the down bars to them. I called tech at the dragstrip and they said to bring it down whenever and they can do the inspection. I forgot to ask them, was hoping you could answer a question for me. Can I prime and paint my cage ahead of time or do I need to leave the welds exposed and unpainted until after tech inspection?
For sfi certification size and wall thickness.
Local track tech probably just size and arrangement of cage.
Paint is OK. They frown on welds that are ground to cover up bad work.