Good or bad idea to clear over old plated parts? Options

[doug_b_928]

One of my winter projects is refurbishing the pedal cluster. I'm going to paint or powder coat the black parts (probably paint because I don't have a glossy powder). I'm not planning to get the plated stuff re-plated. Just clean it very well with a combination of steel wool, sand paper and wire wheels. But I was thinking putting a clear over the plated parts might keep them looking nice a lot longer. Is this a good approach when not re-plating?

[McMark]

Any cleaning will remove even more plating. So basically you're left with bare steel parts. Paint them at least. But I bet if you search your area you can find a plater. Zinc is really cheap.

If it were me, I probably wouldn't paint them with clear. Clear seems to be more temperamental, so I would just use a colored paint (black, silver, 'aluminum', etc).

Also, parts like the pedal cluster shouldn't be glossy if you're looking to refinish them as original. Semigloss is the go-to for almost everything.