I see what you're talking about. I'm thinking the wire you're working with is too stiff, so you're not quite able to get it to lay the way you want it to. I was actually using motor-winding wire to begin with for my K-36D leg restraint lanyards because I thought it was fine and soft enough to use for that. Turns out it was really easy to bend and to work with, but it was so stiff I couldn't get it lay just right...it had a tendency to kind of spring back a little bit from where I'd set it. I ended up getting an assortment of dead soft jewelry wire from Amazon, and that worked a lot better. Here's a link to what I got if you want to give it a try. The set I got only goes as fine as 28 gauge, but I'm pretty sure you can find other assortments that go finer.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VNDN7GM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I painted mine before bending and putting in place (after priming them with Mr. Metal Primer of course), but that was because the lanyards in the real thing are a grey color. If you're looking for more of a stainless steel or aluminum look, you can always tin the copper wire with solder before bending and attaching. Not sure how you are with a soldering iron, but tinning copper with one is really easy, especially if you dip the wire in some liquid flux first.