Bullitt...
The bare steel parts of yours that I've seen look really good. There are a few problems with that though. For those of us in the "rust belt" our parts aren't good enough to just leave bare. My driveshaft has a good amount of pitting as does my other suspension parts. Right now I'm working on my upper controle arms. I'm filling in a lot of the pits and will be spraying them with a paint that looks like bare steel.
Second...I have heard(I don't have any experience with this, I'm just going by word of mouth) that clears will start to yellow over time. Also, clears are not that good at stopping the oxidation process and the parts will start to rust underneith the clear at some point.
With that being said...I do think it looks the best to have the parts bare instead of a lookalike paint but for those who are going to drive their cars in different kinds of weather, paint probably makes a better choise. Now I don't know what your plans are with your car but if you are going for an OE type restoration, your doing the correct thing.
