My GE Evo has been painted for about a year. It was a satin finish and I was concerned that the decals might show. So today I sprayed Rustoleum 2x gloss clear on the model. It dried fast and I was handling it on my desk. It's been a few hours but I got to thinking about flash off.
How long should I wait to apply decals over fresh clear paint?
I didn't want anything to wrinkle or go wrong. Do they cause any issues?
Is the final top coat of clear over the decals more important to wait for?
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No experience with that type of paint, but if it's enamel, I generally wait 24 hours. Acrylics require much less. See what it says on the label asto the time to "fully dry" or "fully cured." At the bare minimum, wait until the smell is completely gone even if you gentley warm it with a hair dryer
I agree with John. I have two NKP "to be" gons I sprayed on Saturday. Krylon dries quickly to the touch ("flat" faster than "semi-gloss," which I used), but both cars still have a faint odor. So I'm holding off a couple more days before starting decaling. (Doesn't matter anyway...I can't go anywhere).
I am with John. Solvent paints take much longer than water based, at least a couple of days. Also if you have an uneven surface, lots of rivets or braces then even longer. Micro Sol and Solvaset will tend to soften solvent paints if its on the surface for more than a few minutes. On flat surfaces with only Micro Set then you can apply sooner.
Pete
Wow, thank you all. I thought about the smell and the flash off. I normally wait extra it's just that I cut all the decals and was ready to go right before I sprayed the gloss.
It's one of those I know better, but...………..
At least 24 hours in a reasonably warm room. And stop sniffing the trains, 
I bake Scale Coat, then wait a week! It is dry when it comes out of the oven, but if I try to stripe it it will clog the pen. So, a week.
I've had pretty good luck the past several years using Krylon Gloss and Matte clear spray can paints. Although the directions on the can claim it fully dries in an hour or two, I generally will let something sit overnight after gloss coating.
After decaling and flat coating however, I may handle the item shortly after the stated dry time, provided the smell is gone. If it still has a faint scent, then half an hour to an hour in front of a fan seems to finish it up and the item's good to go.
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