Why does my coloring fade when I apply the finish?

I am a high school student just learning how to apply color to my projects. I had a wall hanging colored perfectly but when I applied the clear coat finish (spray-on), the color faded to almost nothing.Do you think it might be the type of clear coat that is wrong?What type would you recommend?Can you recommend a good instructional book for coloring and preserving?Any help you can provide will be appreciated.Thank you,

Toby,I get that you want to preserve your work for the future but what *is* your work? I'd love to try and help but there's not enough information. Is it an art project? 2 dimensional? Three dimensional? What media are you using to colour your work?Also, what dimensions are these hangings? Where are you going to display them?

I am fabricating silhouette's in my ag fab class. And I am using Oxy-acetylene torch, to color the metal. And when I get the color that I want on the metal, I apply the clear coat, and the color disapears. I need to know what kind of clear coat to put on the metal. My silhouette's are about two feet long and a foot tall, and I make them to hang on a wall, or out side of the house. I don't know what kind or clear coat it is that I've been using, I just need to know what kind to use.