help with style bar/roll bar

[decoy]

got the bar over a month go stripped the old paint and havent touched it since. this is because im not sure of how to go about and getting it smoothed out( get rid of some scratches/imperfections) before i spray it..

now once all that is one i need a few ti on spray painting.. my general gist is to prime it then 2-3 coat of whatever colour and then spray lacquer( and the only lacquer i have is engine lacquer high temp). my worry is that after all this is done and the bar is put in place that the paint may rub off the hood, as the bar sits quite high and catches on the roof a bit when fully closed.

thanks

Dmitry