Painting - Painting kitchen stools black

Please help! I just painted my wood kitchen stools black (used to be white) and they look great. However, I used a flat black latex enamel because I didn't know any better. I lightly sanded the white paint first, but obviously not enough. I am new to painting and didn't realize the importance of proper priming. Just touching the stools causes the black paint to scratch off! My question is, can I apply a clear hard finish of some kind to prevent further scratches, or do I need to sand the whole thing down and start over? I will be grateful for any feedback! Thank you!

Welcome to the forums!

Unfortunately your black latex didn't bond well to the underlying paint. Adding any coating on top of it may slow down the peeling process but will not stop it.

The best thing to do would be to sand off the majority of the black and then either apply a solvent based primer {latex paint will adhere to the primer} or wipe the surface down with a deglosser and apply an oil base black enamel.

Thank you for the quick reply. I was afraid that was the case, but I was wishful thinking! I will sand them down and start over with the oil-based paint.