Clear coat can be interesting.

I bought a 6-year old '96 855R in Fire Red.

For the first 10 years or so, I waxed it twice a year, and it looked great.

One year, I did not do my springtime wax, and about 1/2 of the panels faded.

The roof and most of the right side faded and I could easily see that the other panels had clear coat on them.

After I polished the car - the faded panels put red on the rags, the clear coated panels did not!

The car came out looking great, and a few people that I asked could not pick out the clear coat panels!

Most info on Volvo paint that I have read relate that solid colors have no clear coat, and metallic colors do.

However, if your car was repaired, or repainted, it could indeed have clear coat.

I have a '90 745 in a burgundy metallic that obviously has a roof and hood that have clear coat that has faded away, and is white around the edges.

I am sure that any method that you use will take more color off than clearcoat because the clear is tougher than the color.

In my case, I plan to have the roof and hood painted, perhaps in a some shade of brown to create a two tone look.

Medium blus might look good on your car, and last longer in your sun. If you do the sanding and there is simple masking, a small shop may paint it for a reasonable price. Make sure you sand with a long, firm block, so that you take the high spots off first.