How long to dry?

I can't help with the spray can drying time, but as for it out of the bottle..... I'd say acrylic about 20-30 minutes you can re-coat it, completley dry maybe a few hours. Enamel would be about 30 minutes before you can re-coat and few hours before it's 100% dry.

As for bigger spray cans, their essentially the same thing in the smaller cans(that is if you can find the right color.) Some people argue that the small cans from the model-paint companies ex: Tamiya, have better quality, but in all actuality the only difference is price. The same holds true for primers and even some clear coats.

One caution about spray can paint:  Some of it can be pretty hot.  I put some Krylon primer on a bare plastic model once and got it on pretty heavy.  The surface details started to melt.  So do light coats.  I have since airbrushed it with no problems and it's a good primer.

As far as drying times, if you mean fully dry, my rule of thumb is it's dry when I can't smell it.  With enamels, that can be several days.

Don

Apply in light coats waiting at least a few minutes between each. Once you have the coverage you desire placet the model in a dust free area to cure for several hours...over night is best. Rattle can application doesn't necessitate a consistency of thickness of the paint. Therefore the paint needs sufficient time to outgas to cure throughout.

The acrylics dry much faster than the enamels.  The enamels depend a bit on humidity and temp, but a LOT on how thick of a coat you put on.  Bottles and spray cans about the same time. Even with a light coat I'd allow overnight for gloss, a couple hours for flat.  That is before a recoat or sanding.  For masking, I'd allow twice that time.

I do use the Krylon primer- works great, but the older stuff worked even better.  As someone else said, it is pretty hot. It is okay over bare plastic (I have never had it dissolve plastic) but not over acrylics or enamels.

I have also used auto paint.  Problem is, today the cans do not adequately tell the type of paint.  Some cans that say lacquer are actually acrylic lacquer, not cellulose lacquer.  If it is real cellulose lacquer it can go over auto primer, not over much else.  I have had auto lacquer craze bare plastic so always use a primer under auto paint.

Acrylics do appear to dry faster than enamels, however they only dry on the surface faster. Underneath they take more time to fully cure than on might think.They need time to bond to the surface. Most acrylics don't have the same surface etching properties as do enamels.

Take this from someone who makes acrylic paints for a living.

When airbrushing, whether using paint from the little bottles or decanted from spray cans, there are 3 rules I use:

1) enamels OR acrylics should dry/cure overnight, unless doing multiple coats of the same color, then just an hour or so;

2) enamels OR acrylics should dry/cure 3-5 days before masking;

3) NEVER put enamel over acrylic or acrylic over enamel until the under coat has cured a full week.

For spray cans or brush painting, as I tend to put thicker coats on, I let them cure/dry 3-5 days minimum.

Tim

Greenshirt

When airbrushing, whether using paint from the little bottles or decanted from spray cans, there are 3 rules I use:

1) enamels OR acrylics should dry/cure overnight, unless doing multiple coats of the same color, then just an hour or so;

2) enamels OR acrylics should dry/cure 3-5 days before masking;

3) NEVER put enamel over acrylic or acrylic over enamel until the under coat has cured a full week.

For spray cans or brush painting, as I tend to put thicker coats on, I let them cure/dry 3-5 days minimum.

Tim

I would disagree with #2 and #3 but if you feel better doing that then go for it.

Personally, I can spray Tamiya acrylics, cure them in my curing box with a light bulb in it and put Future on it in an hour or so.

Don, I agree...When I cannot smell the enamel paint it's dry.  I think the term for that is "De-gasing". If it still smells like paint it's still emitting gas, and therefore isn't "Truly" dry/cured.  The practical reason to let it completely dry (by this definition) is because the paint is still contracting on the model.