Clear coat over old, chipping paint?

Hi All, I've been slowly restoring a hundred year old home in Vermont that was used as a rental for many years. Regarding the interior doors: The previous owners just painted over everything with layer upon layer of paint with colors ranging from pink to green to blue and finally primer white. I've been lovingly trying to bring back all the original brass hardware that has been covered up for so long. On one of the bedroom doors, the paint was chipping so, in my attempt to refinish it, I scraped a bit and sanded a bit. Ultimately, I liked sanding down the layers so you could see strata of paint colors that resembled a topographical map or a thermal image. I decided to do this in a somewhat deliberate manner to make the door unique and look "distressed." Now, I'm thinking I should put a clear coat on top to seal in the paint and stop any further chipping or pealing. I have no idea what kind of paint each layer is. I'm a novice at this and still have a lot of learning to do. Is there a good product I could use to get a smooth, matte finish that will preserve the paint underneath? Should I even bother? Since it is an older home, I'm a little worried about lead. Will a top clear coat seal that in? Thanks for the help!

Submitted April 04, 2016 at 08:19PM by MrYesYes http://ift.tt/1Swyu5g