The simple answer is, yes.
Watercolour paints are wonderful on paper. You best choice of paper would be the heavy paper specifically made for that use, but other papers can be used with varying degrees of success.
Watercolor paints only work on paper because the paper is able to obsorb the water and grasp the color. The paint will easily peel off even for decorative porposes. Even if watercolor would stick, it is very thin paint and would barely be able to be seen.
Most modern anti-rust paints will work well on aluminium.
You can paint their shells. Acrylic paints or nail polish work well.
Unfortunately combining oil and water in paint always results in disaster. Oil based paints must be thinned with solvent. Brushes used to paint oil based paints also need to be cleaned with solvent.
Water should work well as food colourings are usually water soluble.
Water based paints or acrylic craft paints are the best to use on Styrofoam. Water based paints, specifically poster paints, work well with younger kids as they can get a really good and thick coverage of paint on the polystyrene shape.
Reconstituting dried out watercolor paints is often somewhat difficult. Most artists recommend trying to add a small amount of water to the paint to reconstitute.
I have had excellent results with good quality craft paints, however, there are now acrylic paints designed for exterior crafts, and I understand they work very well too.
Non-thermal cashregister receipts work well for cigarette rolling paper substitutes. People in jail and prison often use the coarse material used as toilet paper there. Pipes work well.
Well, honey, a paper towel is gonna do its job whether it's in fresh water or salt water. It's not gonna suddenly decide to take a vacation just because the water is a little salty. So, go ahead and use that paper towel to clean up your mess, no matter what kind of water you've got.
You can work as a paper boy/girl it pays well.
Rogier van der Weyden was well known for his work with oil paints.