Originally Posted by The Messenger

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_2_part_2k_aerosol.cfm

You don't need to go to bare metal unless the current paint is chipping or peeling or rusty. I would wet sand the old finish with 600 paper, then prime with a color close to your base coat. So if you are going black, use a black primer. The "industrial" paints are pretty durable but you don't have much choice in colors. You should be fine with 3 coats of base coat, then 3-4 coats of clear coat. The 2 part clear in the link I provided will withstand some chemicals. I just bought some to use on a gas tank. If you get orange peel or runs, you can wet sand it out with 2000 grit. Then finish normally with a clear.

this tank is 35 years old. The original clear coat lifted when the bike was removed from a 15+ year storage. I removed the original clear coat by wet sanding with 600, then masked off the original stripes and repainted the blue and black. Duplicolor orange peels alot so I wet sanded with 2000 until it was smooth. Just waiting for the clear to show up in the mail.

BTW - Duplicolor from an auto parts store is an option and you should be fine with their standard clear coat. This tank will most likely get fuel dripped on it at some point so I went with the 2 part. Use Duplicolor paints in a NON HUMID environment. It should dry in about an hour to the point you can wet sand it. I did this tank, fender and two side panels in one day - 4 coats.

I'll have details on that 2 part clear in a day or two.