Is it true you should always let each coat of paint dry fully before adding the next

[BankHolidayBlues]

This one is genuinely mostly true, though the actual specific details matter significantly more than most casual DIY advice tends to actually let on. Applying a second coat before the first has genuinely properly cured can trap real moisture underneath the surface, leading to actual visible bubbling, real uneven texture, or genuine premature peeling later on down the road as the whole paint job continues to age over time.

The real important nuance here is the actual meaningful difference between dry to the touch and fully cured. Most standard paints feel completely dry within just a few hours, but full actual curing, where the paint reaches its true final hardness and complete durability, can genuinely take anywhere from several full days up to as long as an entire month depending on the specific paint type, the local humidity, and the actual ambient temperature in the room at the time.

For most typical basic home DIY projects, waiting the paint manufacturer's own specifically recommended recoat time, which is usually printed directly and clearly on the actual paint can itself, is genuinely sufficient for a good quality practical result. That specific recoat time is meaningfully shorter than full complete curing time, but it is long enough that the first coat has already solidified enough to properly accept a second coat without trapping real moisture or genuinely disturbing the layer underneath.

Where people most commonly run into genuine real trouble is specifically humid environments or when working with a notably thicker paint like some higher quality furniture finishes. Where the actual manufacturer's stated standard recoat time can honestly be genuinely too optimistic for those specific real conditions, and rushing the very next coat in that kind of situation is exactly when visible real problems most commonly tend to actually show up later.

So the honest short version is yes. Respect proper recoat times, but check your actual specific paint can for the manufacturer's own real specific recommended timing rather than just guessing, and genuinely add some extra real buffer time if you are working in a humid space or with a notably thicker type of paint

[Comet Barrel]

TLDR, yes this is true, but dry to the touch and fully cured are meaningfully different things. Check your actual paint can for the manufacturer's specific real recoat time rather than just guessing at it yourself

[Mick79]

Hard to say if lot of rushed and quite disappointing DIY paint jobs specifically trace directly back to this exact issue. Impatience combined with just not actually reading the fine print printed clearly on the can itself

[Natalie_86]

It's worth flagging that temperature actually matters here too. Not just humidity specifically, painting in a notably cold room can meaningfully slow down proper curing time significantly beyond whatever the can's standard recommendation assumes as its baseline condition

[BiscuitTin46]

Would guess curious to see dedicated thread specifically on proper paint prep more broadly.

Feels like recoat timing is just one small piece of a much bigger overall topic that most casual DIYers probably do not fully appreciate

[Marcus]

The humidity factor actually explains a bad experience I had years ago on a bathroom repaint project.

Rushed the second coat in what was a really humid room and ended up with real visible bubbling that I had to fully sand back down and redo from scratch

[Panther]

Short version, respect proper recoat times.

Check the actual can for specific real guidance, add real extra buffer time specifically in humid rooms or with clearly thicker paint types

[NightCrawler]

Personally, in my experience, now after learning this the hard way is to just add real extra buffer time beyond whatever the can actually specifically recommends.

Better to wait a bit longer than to actually risk redoing the entire job all over again from scratch

[DecentBloke]

Another point, thing, this specific advice clearly varies a lot by the actual paint type too. A thin basic latex wall paint dries and cures meaningfully faster than a thicker specialized furniture finish, treating every single paint type as fully identical here is a quite common real DIY mistake

[Oscar_57]

Not surprised is such a really great example of advice that sounds simple on the surface but actually has real meaningful nuance underneath once you properly dig into the actual specific details involved. Small but real point