Not familiar with Ral paint but generally speaking you do not need a clear topcoat in these instances.

Is the paint going to be sprayed? In the home or in the shop? Is the paint catylized?

Painted surfaces chip. Some surfaces have not been prepared properly and chip more than others. It seems your painter is competent in this area. But if you knock the drawer front with your ring just right you can get a chip. Just the nature of it.

I don't know about cracking. But if your molding detail on the face there expands and contracts at a different rate from the underlying material, you could get cracking where they meet.

Good luck with your project.

In my experience, if you want a long lasting paint job, you shouldn't use solvent based paints (these are the ones that yellow over time). Not only do they yellow, but these coatings are more brittle, so they crack with the slightest bit of movement.. I realize that people may claim that oil based paints are more durable, but IMO the yellowing and brittle nature cancel out that small gain you may get in durability. With all paints, as long as you are using something of high quality, you will probably not gain durability by applying some kind of clear topcoat.

Jn3344,

Yes, the painter is planning on catalyzing the paint, and spraying it in his shop... Thanks for your advice that a top coat is not needed.

Paintguy22,

I have heard of poly sealer (clear top coat) yellowing, but I have never hear of solvent based pigmented paint yellowing or being brittle. I will research that further. Thx