My reels take a beating primarily being a shore fisherman and I'd reel like to touch em up. I tried using some black acrylic paint and some clear nail polish on my Lews reel and it didn't go to well...took some acetone to it and I'm ready to start over. Can someone tell me exactly what kind of paint and clear coat I should use? I'm having a tough time finding clear coat that isn't spray...I don't need spray because I'm only touching up parts of my reels.

I'd use an enamel paint - Testors or Model Master from the local hobby shop.

So now we're not only contemplating sealing cork, now we are going to touch up reels?

This makes me sad....