I'd be concerned about durability of electroplate over a conductive paint "strike" but I may not appreciate the adhesion of modern finishes.
An electroless nickel or copper strike sounds like a better solution to me, but I have been known to just make stuff up by extrapolating from dinosaur memory cells.
Palladium is used as an electroless plating catalyst but I cannot imagine why it would be needed as part of an electrolytic plating process. And in the autocatalytic plating application, there isn't much there... As I remember, it precipitates as colloidal particles from a solution of palladium salts.
Here is an article that might be worth reading:
https://technology.matthey.com/artic...he%20solution.
Regardless, if you want a "shiny" finish, paint sounds like an easier way to get there. The Spaz Stix black base and "mirror chrome" might be an option. Plating would obviously hold up better but a LOT more work.