No clear coat. I figure i'll just polish it when it needs it. Take your time getting that final bit of paint off, since it really shows up once the frame is polished to this level. I used a steak knife point to carefully scrape the stuff out around the welds. Patience will pay off huge!!
steak knife, word! thats a good idea. I've been scraping at it with my fingernail in frustration! what are you thinking you will use for protective wax?
The mothers polish seems to do pretty darn good. Got some carnuba wax and that stuff is tough to get the shine workin, but maybe it will shed the elements better...dunno yet.
The trick is in the prep sanding. Wet sand with really fine paper at the end. I used 220, then 400, and lastly 600...and go with the grain on the final fine grit pass. Takes alot of time, but sure polishes up nice in the end. Hopefully won't need to lacquere. Plan on using a good wax next to help protect it against everything and just do touch up every once in a while after that.