Originally Posted by
garage sale GT
How about a clear powdercoat? You can't tell me that baking on a plastic coating wouldn't protect a part from rust.
I would try to find enamel instead of lacquer, if it had to be a rattlecan, for toughness' sake.
Finishing the steel with gun blue or a rust brown finish would help prevent rust, as would oiling or waxing the clearcoat.
clearcoat on a steel surface just doesn't last, not even powder coats. At least they don't last as long as paint or chrome.