Weather can have both positive and negative effects on your paint job. When it’s wet and soggy outside, the moisture in the air can slow down the drying process, even on the inside of your home. If you hire a professional like Sisu Painting, Inc., you won’t need to concern yourself too much because; like all good painters, we are obsessed with the weather.
However, if you have decided to take on a painting project yourself or you feel uneasy about the painter’s you’ve hired, here are a few quick tips to guide you during the painting process.
- Read the paint can label and stay within the recommended guidelines for temperature. Not all paint products are created equal, so this is an important factor.
- Do not paint exteriors when it’s raining or there is impending rain.
- If the forecast is wrong and your paint gets rained on, do not panic. Although it is not recommended to paint in the rain, most exterior paint products are waterborne, so a light sprinkle is unlikely to damage your paint job. Almost all exterior paints have drying agents that quicken the drying process, usually skimming over within four hours. A heavy rain may wash off fresh paint. In that case, you may being doing a bit of touch up painting. The worst case scenario is that you will have a mess to clean up and need to repaint.
- Do not paint when it’s too hot. If you are painting on a hot day, try painting the shadiest sides of the house to avoid the direct sun. Painting in direct sunlight on a very hot day will not produce the best results. The paint might dry too fast, become gummy, possibly blister and if you are using an airless sprayer, can dry in the air as the paint is atomizing, before it hits the surface. A good painter can tell when the paint is drying too quickly and will call it quits.
- Do not apply paint products or urethanes on interiors when it is extremely wet and cold. You could experience bubbling or the product can sag. This is because the paint or urethane is not drying fast enough.
- Avoid painting in the fog; and, a good rule of thumb to follow is to paint only when the air temperature is 5 degrees or more above the dew point. Weather Underground is a good resource to find out what your current dew point and temperature is for your area.
- Heat plus air flow will help your paint dry. If you are painting inside and having drying issues, turn up the heat and increase the airflow by opening windows or turning on a fan.
- Don’t watch your paint dry, I swear it slows down the process!
Now that you have somewhat of a handle on when to paint, don’t let anything stand in the way of your vision and that fabulous paint job!
Cheers!
Nancy Long
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