I'm interested in seeing your replies: I have same same/ similar questions
Black is unforgiving: shows everything. Gloss multiplies imperfections , so its a double challenge. like everything in paint , comes down to prep and between coat steps
Staying within rattlecan world, and because balancing time , cost and lack of expertise, I personally would go with satin , maybe semi, and take up the gloss with a (maguires or similar) finer grit paint polish. I use a 2-3 inch Harbor freight drill attachment detail buffer for $3.99 that can get into brake stays an lug joints . then car wax and buff .
what i would like to know is : if good results can be had with clear over the base color , without wetsanding / polishing etc between each coat and ...
if one can skip smoothing out the base coat and just take wet sand / polish steps in the last 1-2 coats of clear .... I find my attempts to wet sand a bike frame sometimes to more harm than good because its hard to get in the detail nooks and sand evenly with a flat piece of sand paper , and a pin to wash the frame between coats