Paint, decal, then paint again

Spray in 2 or 3 light coats of gloss clear coats before applying decals. Let final gloss coat cure for 24 hours before decals. When working and applying decals, I use Micro Sol and Micro Set.

I like to let my decals dry completely - being a nitpicker myself, I usually wait until the next day before applying a coat of flat clear coat.

Can I use lacquer gloss clear over the acrylic paint?  I know it dries faster...

I think so - but lacquer is hotter than acrylic. Test on a scrap kit to make sure.

I don't use acrylics myself, but I have many friends who do, and some of them do use Testors Glosscoat lacquer.  They say it works fine as long as the acrylic is thoroughly dry, like 24 hours.

I use the lacquer glosscoat over enamels, and if the humidity is not too high, I allow a couple of hours dry time before decaling.  Again, humidity affects decal dry time, but if not too humid I let decals sit for about 3 hours. Even if I use setting solution, 3 hours is okay.  However, if I use decal solvent I let it sit at least six to eight hours!  Then I can use the lacquer Dullcoat.

You can spray lacquer over acrilics as long as the acrilic paint is cured, ususally IMO at least 1-2 days to be on the safe side. The gloss lacquer needs to be sprayed in very light thin coats to prevent any issues. Let each lacquer coat dry for 3-4 minutes and shoot again, light and easy. The good thing about spraying light lacquer coats is that it dries as soon as it hits the surface so any reaction is not likely.

Another way is brushing Future over the model which is clear acrilic. With Future the model needs to sit for a day or two to let the Future cure otherwise the area under and around the decal will cloud up when decal solutions are applied. When using gloss lacquer then you can decal in 2-4 hours. I would wait at least 4 hours just to be safe.