Clear coat after painting

[Arc Kalocal]

Hello everyone, I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere. I've just finished painting my cabinet, it's nothing special, but I've already nicked it a couple times leading to scratching off bits of paint. What sort of clear coat do you fine people suggest to use in order to protect the paint, especially on the CP where I expect it to take a lot of wear.

[ChadTower]

Did you prime first?  Did you give the paint sufficient cure time?  Cure time isn't drying time.  Cure time is often like a month before it's really set.

[Arc Kalocal]

Yeah I used Primer and I've been painting it little by little over the last month. The nicks weren't from regular use, I still haven't assembled it. I'm not really sure what scratched it but they're there nonetheless.

[ChadTower]

Sounds like it isn't cured yet.  It's dry to the touch but not for regular handling.

[jennifer]

   Cure time, although important doesn't sound like your problem, that's more about shrinkage.... Adhesion issues are more likely the culprit, not sanding the surface on say something like melamine or using cheap paint. Clearcoat will be only as good as your base (meaning that will come off too) as for the C/p clear will scratch and start to look pretty rough in a short time. Plexy would be a better choice there, it too will scratch but was considered industry standard on some games... Personally... Jennifer would use a coating more suited to the task, such as automotive, or industrial.