Lacquer should work fine, it's about the best top coat/carrier/finish made. With that said, I don't know if you've used it before or not, but be careful with it. The quality lacquers are going to be Nitrocellulose. If you don't know, that's gun cotton (the stuff used in bullets that explodes). Among other things, the vapor are highly toxic and dried powder can ignite w/o open flames. I'm not saying don't use it, I do for finishing wood, but be careful with it. I've heard there's "water based" lacquers for wood finishing, but I'm not sure if they have any that have pigment, or if it's suitable for metal, or what. Either way, good luck with it.
NAH