I’ve noticed in many build articles that modelers sometimes leave their models to dry for days to weeks before resuming work. This seems ridiculous, I usually just let my kits dry for an hour or so before working on them, and my results are very pleasing. Any comments?
I alway give the kit a minimum 12 hours dry time so as to not leave fingerprints in soft paint or tear of paint with masks or to prevent reactions between different types of paints. Rather wait than trash my model.
It also depends on the climate you are in… if one is in a cooler climate- like say Maine-- or a moister climate-- like Florida-- drying times are going to be vastly different from someone in the warm, dry heat of the desert like New Mexico.
I paint in my basement in NY (not the city) where it is mostly cool (but thanks to a dehumidifier-- not too damp)…however-- we just started up the wood stove yesterday so it’ll be warm and dry until April or so 
drying hours doesnt matter as long as the paint has dried…lol
seriously better wait a few hours. i was in the within the hour school now reverted to day by day basis.
It’s imperative that paint has had time to fully cure, but especially before applying washes, or before trying to accomplish tasks like polishing. If the solvents are still in the process of flashing-off, you’re going to ruin your kit. Swanny’s right, except that fingerprints will be the least of your worries. Regardless of where you paint and the relative humidity, painted kits should have at LEAST a couple days to fully cure.
Gip Winecoff
Whenever possible, I like to do painting before bedtime. I’ll set up the workbench an hour or so before bedtime, apply the paint, rinse the paintbrushes, then by the time I’m done and have everything put away, it’s time for sleep! The model is placed under a dust cover (between living on a busy street and owning a cat, that’s an absolute necessity at my house) and it dries overnight. Gloss paints require longer drying times, so I’ll try to apply those when I know I won’t be touching the model at all for a few days–perhaps I’m taking an overnight trip, or, tomorrow I’m hiking, Friday is the IPMS meeting, Saturday I’m hitting the yard sales, then watching the ball game on TV.
I usually wait 12 hours between coats if I am going to have to mask over the first coat (especially if I am brush painting). If its just two colors (i.e. USAAF OD over neutral gray) I let the first coat dry to the touch (1 to 2 hrs).
I generally paint at night as well. Let it go overnight and dry nicely.