Clear coat aluminium.

[toglhot]

I've clear coated most of the polished aluminium, smaller bits, just have the wheels to finish. Unfortunately, the clear coat dulls the shine quite a bit. Funny stuff to spray on polished aluminium: I had to spray a very light coat first, give it a few minutes then hit it again with a heavier coat so the paint would pool and flatten out. Still a bit of orange peel though, particularly on the triangular engine mount. The clear coat doesn't behave the same over painted surfaces, just polished aluminium, very disappointed in the finish. I may not clear coat the wheels as they'd be hard to get the clear to pool, there's a very fine line between pooling and a run. Float coating seems to just run and build up on the edges.

[docmel]

I've been there: Clear can dull the shine. Its just not "clear".

What I didnt see was what type clear did you use? Hopefully not out of a spray bomb. Spray bombs do not have hardener in it like autograde mixed paint does. Without hardener, it will dull more over time, scratches very easlily, and no matter how long it has dried, it will chip and even just a spill of gasoline will mar the finish. Also spray bombs do not have UV protectorant: It will yellow over time. Also auto grade paint clear tends to be "clearer" than clear out of a spray can

Auto grade type clear (almost all have UV protectorants in them nowadays), with the addition of "fish eye" eliminator, keeps getting what you MIGHT have in your finish (I dont beleive thats orange peel, cant really see) but if you have little concave dots in your paint (fish eye), thats caused by slicone, oil, grease or even the residue of what you polished the surfaces with. If it is true orange peel, thats the prob with spray bombs. You cant adjust the air/paint mixture, or adjust the spray pattern. Spray bomb paint never really hardens: It remains "soft"

Orange peel is typically caused by spray thats too dry and will not allow the paint to "flow" out as it is applied. Since you cant adjust a spray bomb, thats likely what you have. An old spray bomb trick was to spray VERY thick in each coat, a tricky thing due to ripples, drips, etc, and only really works on flat surfaces

Polished aluminum is one of the hardest surfaces to paint over. The bad thing is once it chips, it really looks like hell, and then will start to peel and yellow, and then its chase to fix it, and a real pain to remove to start over again

If you have noticed, even clear adonized over polished aluminum is a tad dull in appearance. That was huge in the 80's, early 90's, polished aluminum with clear over it

One option could have been clear powercoating: That stuff is amazingly clear, very hard, but can still stratch and chip. But aluminum is VERY porous, and the heat applied in curing power coat can cause contaminants to "seep" back to the surface = poor appearance

All is not lost You did a great job

There is something you can do: You can shoot clear auto grade over what you have now, AS LONG as the paints are compatable and will not react to each other. Scuff the surface lightly with 600 wet sand (you can get the orange peel smooth as well at the same time). Use hot soapy water (Dawn). Dry, clean with slicone remover and hit it with auto grade clear with a paint gun

Be aware though, that slight "fog" caused by the clear you used will not go away, but I dont beleive it will get worse if cleared over as said

I have taken spray bomb gas tank paint jobs and shot clear automotive grade paint over them for my friends, wether pin striped, air brushed, you name it, and they have looked great and lasted for years The key is to make sure the clear is compatible with what you are painting over I have done it over newly placed decals as well on paint jobs

Last trick: I have taken spray bombed smaller parst and while still slightly tacky, placed them in my oven. Set at bake, 110 degrees for 20 minutes, turn off the oven and just let it sit there overnight. Finsh will be harder than if air dried

Be careful: Dont want to burn or bubble the finish while in the oven Actual oven temps may vary, but never go over 110 degrees EVEN IF ITS "High Temp" paint

[docmel]

And you aint gonna like this. ANY area that you did not tape off that will come into contact with a nut, bolt or spacer, it will crush the clear right off, and peeling/flaking around it will soon follow

[flatman]

Dragstews had a sauce he applied (Shark skin?) on a set of polished cases. Do a search. Also I think zipper customs (maybe the sauce was named zoops?) had something also. Anyway check around some good alternatives to clear coat out there.

[farmall]

The boat people are alloy and chrome protection gurus since they've so much of both threatened by salt spray. Sharkhide is an interesting self-annealing coating (not a paint which are brittle). I've used it for some time on Dragstews advice. Works well and my use case isn't demanding like a boater.

I've not looked but aircraft landing gear were painted in the old Imron from DuPont (bare aluminum is purely for esthetics! It's mostly painted in aviation except where looks matter more and the surface is easily maintained) and if a similar (but clear) epoxy exists that would be worth sampling. I'm not a painter so I defer to them.

https://sharkhidestore.com/

[docmel]

I remember when Imron started to make its way to common paint folks. Yes, it was and is used on aircraft, race cars, etc. Next time you board an aircraft, take a look at the engine nacelles and leading edges of the wings. Big time chips. Imron is very chip and chemical resistant
Many exotic type paints that claim, or are super chip resistant, take special additives, and many can not be sprayed with common auto type spray guns. And etypes of paints, to include Imron (or were) are very expensive

Anyway, back to the OPs issue.... He hasnt come back with what he actually sprayed it with, so really its in his court at this point