What you are doing is still valid except that Hobbypoxy has been gone for a long time. If you are not using glow fuel and don't have spray equipment Krylon will put dow a pretty decent spray can finish if you follow their directions.
If you have spray equipment, several brands of latex will put down excellent finishes. Get into the search area of RCU and you will see numerous threads on using latex. Also there is a hobby packaged epoxy system still out there called Klass Koat or Klass Coat.