Hire a electrician to re-wire the fixture. He or she will know how to protect the newly wired sockets.

Don’t paint the fixture. It is a beautiful fixture, of possible historic significance, due to its age and styling. I looked on eBay for “antique Victorian lightfixture with glass” and despite the high prices for antique fixtures could not find anything in such good condition.

What color do you want to paint it? I suggest using RubNBuff instead of paint as long as you can find a color that you want. There will be no need to protect the sockets with RNB as it will not drip. You simply rub it on and buff it off.

That's a lovely fixture. Please do not paint it. Painting it will completely devalue it (if it's antique) and has a very good chance of making it look like cheap plastic instead of nice brass. Usually you paint cheap plastic to look like nice brass - why do the opposite?

If it doesn't suit you as it is now, sell it to someone who likes brass fixtures and put the proceeds towards a fixture more to your liking.

thanks for your response. I started to feel guilty about painting it and decided to use it in another room.