Vintage Stake Side Sets

Any have any survivor stake side sets on their trucks, or old sets they restored?

I have a couple sets I dug out of a South Central Texas ex-railroad shed closet around 2013. The contents of the closet was all pretty much garbage, but garbage no newer than the early 40's, so I think it was untouched and I found a lot of cool treasures in there. I think it was all of the buildings "leftovers" when the railroad left town in the late 40's or early 50's. Not much was actual railroad stuff, but tools, car parts, and things prior employees and p***engers abandoned.

One stake side set is in my attic now and I'll need to get it down for pictures, but the other I'm cleaning up to put on my Dads 53' Ford F-100. We're restoring it to all its work-truck glory and the stake sides will fit right in. They are sized right for its bed with the exception of needing some t******* to a couple of the pegs that fit in the bed holes. They're in really good shape with no rot or damage, but very dry. They are ***embled with square head bolts, steel rivets, and custom forged and welded steel brackets. There's a tail gate that can open 3 different ways, and a slot for a middle panel/gate which I don't have so will need to recreate at some point. It also has removable provisions for a peaked center board so you can put a canvas cover over the top. Whoever built this thing was a pro.

There's also a 1939 date written on one panel in chalk that I'm trying to preserve. The writing below it isn't legible anymore but might have been what vehicle the set came off of.

At first I was planning to repaint them, but the old flat black paint is good enough I want to preserve it. My first step was to rinse 80 something years of dust and spider nests off of them and let them sit in the sun for a bit. Next I'll spot clean with some mild cleaner like diluted simple green and a soft brush.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good clear coat to use on these? Something that will go over the old painted wood and steel, is wear weather and UV resistant, and is flat or satin finish. The truck will be mostly for show, but occasional use and will be outside most of the time. I want to drive it regularly, even though we won't be dumping firewood and machinery in the bed anymore.

I'll need to get some kind of weatherproof canvas material to recreate the top cover too. Something that looks like traditional khaki colored canvas, but I'm ok using modern materials. I might stencil something on the sides too related to our family machine shop or my Dad's past business ventures.