After doing some repairs to my rear deck lid it is time to paint. The whole car has been repainted 9 (?) years ago by the PO to a different color. It was done in single stage paint. Would it make sense to finish off the lid with enamel like the rest of the car , or, go to base and clear? Right now cost is an issue. I know a can of single stage is going to be a lot less than base and clear. Do some of you guys use single stage in engine compartments and trunks and base and clear for the exposed areas of the car?
Retrofit

I think you will have a easier time matching the texture and color with whatever it was repainted with. You did say single stage but then said enamel. I guess you could call enamel single stage but there is a urethane single stage and that is what most people mean by single stage. On daily driver type cars a option would be to use a single stage on the inside as it will not be exposed to the elements and will hold up well and means one less step.

What I meant by "silngle stage" is using an acrylic enamel only. No clear coat. In
this case I'm using Nason acrylic enamel that I bought from a local auto paint store for chip touch up.
Retrofit

Single stage unless you like driving around with a coat of clear on the rear trunk.

The clearcoat will look different and you will spend a lot of effort to try to minimize the difference.

The product that you use would depend alot on your color match. If you have some of th original paint you will have a good match. If not, chances are you will not have a match if you are just going to "panel paint" the deck lid.... unless you have a black car! If you base/clear the decklid you can blend into the tops of the
rear quarters. You should'nt notice a more shiney decklid with clearcoat if the rest of your single stage is buffed and has a good shine.

Ron