Okay here are some pictures of my progress (?):
As stated earlier I prepped the wheel and repaired the cracks using epoxy resin and filler. Here is the worst one:


Then I covered the entire rim with carbon fiber cloth and applied 4 coats of epoxy resin over that:


Sanded everything down until flush with trim rings and fairly smooth:


Masked off trim rings and shot 3 coats of SPI black epoxy:


Next came the fun part. I tried to impart a wood grain look to the epoxy primer before it completely set. This is what I got after a very light sanding with 400 grit:




Do you think this will look acceptable is or it a little too heavy?