It depends on the particular paint you are using. Follow the intructions on the can. The acrylic enamel I'm using requires that you apply the next coat within one hour or wait one week and then sand and spray. The clearcoat goes on within one hour, too. I'm doing three coats of color and then three coats of clear. The decals go under the clear. You want warm weather and low humidity for spraying, especially when spraying clear. I painted the fork on Saturday, and was going to paint the frame Sunday, but the weather changed and spoiled my plans.