Last time I did a little spray job like that, I allows 10 minutes between primer coats, then a half hour to the finish, then a half hour to the clear coat.
In your case, I;d wait a bit longer, even overnight from primer to finish if you can.
There are some paints that will say to coat withing an hour or wait at least 12 hours, but if not stated, it probaly does not matter.
What is the type of paint and the weather? Lacquer on a hot sunny day will dry almost instantly and enamel on a cold, damp dreary day may take over night.
Generally a good rule of thumb to follow, however. The question becomes, what about that "within an hour"? 5 minutes or
55? 1 or 59? or 30?
I'll generally stray something other than the "prime target" and assess the progress of drying or curing by touch on the "test sample" to decide when to recoat, or sand off runs, or whatever - without risking damage to the "prime target"
Generally speaking, half an hour between coats of like product, 8-12 hours batween unlike products to be safe. (acrylic laquer over enamel primer, for instance -, or unknown clear over acrylic laquer)
I've had "off the shelf" match a whole lot closer than some "custom mixed" or dealer supplied touch ups. For mirrors and other accessories it is generally so close you cannot tell the difference, while using it to spot repair a panel is a "horse of a different colour", and even to paint a "defined panel" like a door can be off far enough to be very noticeable becaue it is on the same "plane" and even between two other original panels.
It goes a lot faster if it is in the sun. I have shot thinned poly urethane and been able to sand and shoot another coat in a half hour sitting in the driveway in full sun. It was tacky in 10 minutes.
I found a place on line that will make you a spray can. It is a perfect match on my car. Cost more than the off the shelf stuff at the auto store though.
Auto paint stores sell a little sprayer that uses a baby food jar and a separate can of propellant. They can mix just about any factory color, the problem that color has probably faded if the car is a few years old.
I do my spray painting in the shade, but outdoors. Often in the hour or two before sundown. I don't want to inhale the slightest bit of paint, not even the stuff that sneaks around the mask or respirator.
And on a calm day or when the wind is blowing away from the houses and the cars. Overspray can travel a long way. I do have an advantage of 200 or 300 feet of woods in one direction. But when I've spray painted a car -- because of the layout, I can't get my car into my side yard -- either scratches or more, I drive to where there is no one and nothing around, in any direction.
I used to put newspaper on the grass to avoid painting the grass, but periodically I go around taking down the illegal advertising on public land around here, the plastic sheets on metal poles. And I realized those plastic rectangles make even better cover for the grass, because it takes 10 times as much wind to blow them away. When it's windy enough to move them, I wouldn't be painting anyhow.
I definitly paint on the grass and not a sidewalk because even though it looks like the protective cover is plenty big, sometimes it's not big enough. When paint gets on the grass, the grass gets mowed.
I have. It was a long time ago, before the paint with clear coat, but otoh, it was an unusual color 1967 GM mariner turquoise. And the car was 10 years old. So it was about 1977.
All I was trying to do was get rid of scratches, and I would spray a scratch and 30 seconds later, I could not tell where the scratch had been. Nor could I tell what I had painted and what I hadn't. I was amazed, that it coudl match so well, but it did. And I never did notice what had been painted and what hadn't been, and since I had only one can, I know I didn't paint most of this full size Pontiac Catalina.
(Some colors fade more than others. I don't know about cars, but leave a map on your dashboard for a couple years and the red streets will disappear. They didnt just fade, they disapppeared completely, even though I knew where to look. The black lines and green lines were unaffected by several years of sun. I forget about other colors, but I think red is vulneralble because sunlight has a lot of orange or red in it, or the red it has is different from the green it has. The sun is yellow or reddish yellow, I think. That must mean something.
I took the car that morning to be washed at a cheap machine carwash, and even though I didnt' ask for it or pay for it, somehow they spray waxed it. I was angry, though I'd have to wait weeks to paint it, and his answer was that the wax isn't anything anyhow. He must have been right or when the wax wore off, the scratches would have come back.
I see your point but then he woudl have to paint the mirror on the other side too, and that's still on the car fwiw.
Clare's right, it's a mirror at different angles from the body, and even if it's a little different, it won't be noticed.
Duplicolor only goes so far back but I too found that company, whose name I've forgotten, that mixes any car color you want, based on the color code from the car, and puts it in a spray can (which frankly I'm sure works better than those add-on sprayers.) , But they make you buy 3 cans for about 60 dollars iirc. Base coat**, color coat, and clear coat. I was going to do it until I wrecked the right front wheel. I fixed it but the car isn't so perfect anymore. **I wouldn't even use base coat for scratches. It would make the area to be painted bigger.
Next time I have pro's paint a car, I'll paint it to mach a car for which duplicolor is still selling its paint. Then I can buy spare paint at the low duplicolor price.
The first time I painted a car Maaco gave me 4 ounces without my even asking, but the last time, I had to pay extra and they explained that it wasn't the same paint. The paint they used had fast-drying stuff in it, but if I used that it would come out bad. Or vice versa. So I paid extra and then never used my 4 oounces.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.