clear coat over alkyd paint

I recently painted my 1948 Ford 8N. I had some problems with the spray gun so I quit after 2 fairly good coats, but without a last max wet coat for gloss. I reassembled the 8N. The N looks OK but I would like a little more gloss. I understand some have applied clear over alkyd! What is a good/best product? recommendations? Scotch pad surface for adhesion? Thanks Bill T

Clear doesn't shine any more than paint when applied correctly. Scuff it down and use your newfound experience from the first time to correct the situation and should have it shining like a new baby's behind. Clear is to put over metallic/glamour finishes or add more UV protection to any paint.

Randy is partially correct. Base coat/clear coat paint jobs are a 2 stage process. The color is applied just deep enough to cover the primer or sealer and then the clear coat is applied over that. Without the clear coat the base coat will not stand up to the elements. Once exposed to the rain and other open elements it will deteriorate rather quickly. (Think mid 80's to late 90's GM vehicles) It has no gloss whatsoever. The UV protection and gloss comes from the clear coat.
Having sprayed alkyd enamel instead of a urethane complicates things a bit. If you activated the enamel in any way to help it cure quicker you might (mighty big might) be able to scuff it with a Carborundum or 3M blending pad and apply a coat of FAST DRY. Anything designed for overall coverage could be too "hot" and cause lifting.
The Carbo gold pad is designed to barely break the shine and slick surface so that clear can adhere better. However the clear could also cause the enamel to lift and then you have a real mess on your hands.
And Randy is correct when he says that properly applied enamel will shine as well as clear if also properly applied.
Sounds like your question might be "Is there enough paint and shine to look as good as possible?"
You could always come back over the tractor with another coat of enamel good and wet. That shouldn't cause lifting problems.

Jerry,
I am a novice when it comes to paint. What do you mean by "good and wet" when you talk about "come back over the tractor with another coat of enamel good and wet"?
Thanks

with the alkyd and modified alkyd paints, your final coat is a wet coat to obtain the maximum gloss. when i shoot this type of product, i shoot a first coat as a tack coat. you want to get a light-medium coat on, it will be kind of transparent, enough to get color on everything, but it it will be light and a little transparent. you dont need 100% solid coverage. let it tack, have a scrap piece of something you can spray to check drying. it should be sticky, not liquid. next shoot your coverage coat. you want nice solid consistent color over everything. the last coat or wet coat is going to go on heavy so you get a good gloss as you lay it down, but you have to be careful as it will run if you put it on too heavy. i would not shoot it below about 75 degrees. an old trick carry over from the early days of enamels like duponts dulux, was to "hot pot" the paint before loading the paint gun. you would use a hot plate with a pan of water and heat the water, then put your can of paint in the water to get the paint up to temperature, about 120 degrees. kind of a backward heated spray booth. it helps the paint flash off quicker to avoid runs. practice on some scrap stuff before you paint your tractor..

heres my farmall cub i shot years ago in farm and fleet paint, no hardener. its a working tractor, so it didnt get good paint on it.

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