I was at a customers house yesterday and the guy had some hand rails that were finished with something that was awesome. He said that the guy who made the hand rails wouldn't tell him what he used for the finish, but it wasn't paint or powder coat. The steel rails were just some raw tube that was beat up a bit and coated with some sort of a clear finish that just didn't wear. I wish that I had taken some pictures of it. He said that they had been installed four years ago and it looked like it was finished earlier that day. There was even foot rails at his bar that were finished the same way that were holding up just the same.

There was no marks, chips, scratches or anything. The metal was darkend a bit here and there and grey, it wasn't bright, but there was a sheen to it. Any ideas would be helpful. I would like to work on some steam punk items or some art work, but I don't want it to look crappy after a year.