I clear coated then oil washed it. The Stainless Steel gets a bit shinier with a gloss coat but that's about the only impact. I used Chrome, Polished Aluminum, Stainless Steel, and Steel. The Chrome all got a coat of clear Tamiya Red over the top.
Yeah, way more work than I'd had planned. But once you start you canna go back (well, or at least I can't seem to).