Can you paint over clear coat

[dwolfe002]

Hello everyone. I have a little project I'm going to do as a present for a nephew of mine. I'm making a dinosaur puzzle for him to put together and paint any kind of way he wants but I have to keep the metal from rusting in the mean time. The only thing I can think of is to coat it in either an acrylic or polyurethane to keep it from rusting so he can paint it later but don't know if either one can be painted over. If not one of these, is there another type of rattle can clear that can be painted over. I've never had much experience with paint so I don't really know what to do or not to do. I am almost a complete newbie also. Thanks for your help.

[slamwilson]

You can paint over clear, but you will want to make sure its the same type of paint... like acrylic over acrylic, or enamel over enamel. I would steer clear of the Poly.

The other thing you can do is oil them and then de-grease them later.

[dwolfe002]

Thanks a lot. It's good to know that rule. The only thing I have ever painted is a wall.

[djreiswig]

How about primer?

[slamwilson]

Same thing with primer, just make sure everything you use is the same type. If you want to use something from a rattle can, I like Rustoleum, or Duplicolor. The cheap store brands are no good!