I'm in need of some final coat help

Art,

I haven't used lacquer before, instead opting for acrylic clear flat.

In an event, i always do a coat of Future (or Pledge as known here), then decals, then straight to my flat coat.  I've never Futured post decals - not too sure if it make much of a difference to your flat finish.

As per PhilH's comment, I do a number of light coats of flat - about 4-6 coats.

Chris.

Shameless bump.

Art

It may be advantageous to apply a sealing coat over the decals before applying a lacquer flat coat.. I haven't used spray cans in years and I paint primarily with acrylics so my experience is perhaps limited/  

However, I clearly recall spraying Testors Dullcote directly over the decals on a kit many years ago and was treated to the sight of the black and white stripes splitting along the demarcation lines and each black/white segment individually curling up on itself.

However, it may have been a case of hitting it too hard too fast. When overvoating anything with a spray lacquer, apply several light  misting coats, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next.

personally i dont think it matters lol. i painted future over mine just to get the gloss look. it might help so that youve got a nice even coat to start with.