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What type of clear coat do you prefer to use? Flat, matte, satin , semi or high gloss?

I prefer satin varnish from Vallejo Model Air . I use an airbrush and Vallejo airbrush thinner. But for lences and gems i prefer a glossy varnish, painted with a brush

Krylon - gloss first then matte to knock down the shine.

I like to use future floor polish then use tamiya clear

Satin is my preference. Matte just looks too dull to me. It hides the contrast. Satin is the closest to what most hobby paints look like out of the pot.

Though on my 'nids I do use a saton varnish before applying a glossy coat of brown ink to the crevices and exposed fleshy bits, looks much cooler IMO.

I agree with you on the matte. Especially if you go to heavy with it. Your model will end up looking frosted

I generally go with matte (actually matte - talking Dullcote, not Liquitex), selectively brushing on gloss (Vallejo) where appropriate.

Future floor/ Gloss for decals and such and then Vallejo Matte sometimes a small ratio of future mixed in.

for most things, I do 2 layers of Testor's Dullcoat, and a gloss varnish brushed on where appropriate.

If they are minis that I expect other people to be handling (example: minis that I use for demos at a convention), I will do a coat of future floor polish through the airbrush, followed by 2 layers of Dullcoat, and gloss brushed on where appropriate.

Airbrushed Liquitex Satin before Oil wash
Airbrushed Liquitex Matt after Oil wash

Testors DullCote and most matt varnishes always frost in my neck of the woods, where humidity is always >80%. Liquitex is the only one I've tried of 10+ varnishes that doesn't frost.

For gaming figures, I use Krylon Matte which isn't really matte at all, but more of a satin finish. It's also thicker and more protective more like gloss in that regard than most flats.

For display figures, I finish off with Testors DullCote for a more dead flat that works better for photography or viewing under bright lights.

On my metal stuff I've always used Testors Dullcote, but the first plasitc mini I used it on, something in the wash reacted to the spray, I picked up some Vallejo Matte the other day and tried it out with a brush, been happy so far. Haven't seen any issues with it on my couple of test models. I generally do a light 2:1 mix Varnish/Water over most of the model, then go back and do 1 coat of pure varnish on spots I tend to pick the models up (head, barrel of gun, shoulders and feet). This seems to protect the plastics I've been using, but the sample game size with my newest army is low.

It depends on what I am painting.

My tau for example, get a good coat of matte (testors clear acry flat).

My nids get a a liquitex high gloss.

Right tool for the right job.