How Long Does Deck Paint Take To Dry?
You just painted your deck and are wondering, how long does deck paint take to dry? Well, when we’re painting anything outdoors, there are variables that are out of our control. This can delay the drying process for acrylic paint.
On a dry, hot day it should feel dry to the touch in around an hour. Don’t let it fool you though if you walk on recently “dried” paint it’ll create air bubbles under the surface of the paint. We recommend that you wait at least two hours before you walk on your freshly painted deck, but make sure to tread carefully.
If the day didn’t go as planned and it’s more cloudy or cool than we would have hoped for. We strongly suggest that you don’t walk on the deck until 4-6 hours after the final coat has been applied.
Also, if you live in Chicago, and you’re interested in residential painting for your deck, feel free to give me a call for a free quote.
Conditions That Affect Wood Paint Dry Time
When painting outside, there are a ton of variables that are entirely out of our control. These factors can of course increase your paint’s exposure to the elements before it is completely dry. Things like dirt, insects, and pollen can accumulate in the paint and affect the finish.
However, there are also other variables that greatly affect paint, especially when it comes to its ability to dry and adhere to the wood, and those are temperature, humidity, and weather conditions.
Temperature
The main suggestion that any painter can make with regard to temperature is that we have to watch out for both extremes. It is not recommended that we paint any exterior if it is too hot or too cold.
If the weather is less than 50 degrees F. or above 90 degrees F. do not apply any coats of paint. Weather in either extreme can damage the integrity of the paint and affect drying time drastically. However, some skilled painters can manage to paint under extreme cold by using an acrylic-latex formula that works better under the cold.
In general though, when painting under recommended temperature ranges, having a slightly warmer temperate will dramatically speed up drying time. In some of our applications, we’ve seen a 20-30 degree difference in temperature, cause a 1-3 hour difference in drying time.
So definitely, the warmer it is outside, the faster the paint is going to dry, and vice-versa.
Wind
Paint needs time to adhere to the surface where it was applied. When the paint dries too quickly, it struggles to properly attach itself to the surface. This can happen easily in too hot or windy conditions. When painting anything, we want our work to come out clean and effective.
Poor conditions get in the way of that.
Wind specifically can displace dirt or other harmful substances into the paint. It also forces the paint to dry too quickly, which affects the longevity of our project. Make sure to paint under good conditions if you want your paint to live a long and happy life.
Basically, wind definitely speeds up how quickly paint dries, but having conditions that are way too windy can affect the paint’s ability to adhere to the wood, and can even cause debris to end up in the paint and “dirty” the paint.
Humidity
Humidity is one of the most harmful conditions that we can have when painting outside. It introduces unnecessary moisture into the paint and makes it more difficult for the paint’s own moisture to evaporate.
This can drastically affect the drying process of paint and can create streaks when your paint finally dries. Increased humidity can also worsen the adhesion of the paint to its surface.
The good news is that humidity is largely predictable, but it varies greatly from place to place. If you live somewhere that’s extremely humid, you don’t really have a ton of options.
Here’s how to overcome very high humidity in outdoor painting jobs:
- Paint surfaces that have been warmed up by the sun already, but avoid painting too late in the day as temperatures are dropping and humidity is rising.
- Apply thin coats of paint to expedite drying times, and reapply thin coats as needed. This is much better for dealing with humidity than applying overly thick coats of paint that take much longer to dry.
- Aim to paint on days that are sunny, and especially avoid extremely cloudy or even potentially rainy days.
Wood Paint vs Wood Stain Drying Time
Outdoor Wood Staircase Painted
When painting anything in the exterior of our houses there are aforementioned variables that we should always look out for.
Regardless, if you’re looking for the fastest way to give your deck a nice-looking finish we suggest wood stain. The reason for this is that stain digs deep into the cracks of the wood, and it doesn’t need to be reapplied or have an initial coat of primer to achieve a finished product.
Whereas the best way to apply wood paint would be to first apply a coat of primer, paint, and reapply for the most beautiful results.
This leads to a dramatic change in the amount of time necessary for the application and drying.
The general guidelines for drying times are:
Wood Paint:
- 2-6 hours before walking on the paint (Contingent on exterior conditions)
- 1-2 Days before replacing or dragging furniture on the deck
Wood Oil Stain
- 24-48 hours before walking on the stain
- 24-48 hours before replacing furniture
How long should I wait before putting my furniture back on my deck?
If you just finished painting your deck and it feels dry to the touch, make sure to wait a few hours before walking on it. There is the possibility that the paint has yet to dry or adhere to its surface.
If we move any heavy furniture it could jeopardize the adhesion process of the paint and affect its lifespan on your deck.
We suggest that you wait a full 24 hours before moving any heavy furniture back onto your deck to make sure there is no damage to the paint.
Definitely be careful to not drag any furniture. It’s generally damaging to paint, regardless of how dry it is, but it could be especially risky if you haven’t given the paint enough time to dry.
Does primer help the deck dry faster?
No, primer does not help paint dry faster. What a coat of primer does is make sure that your paint sticks to its surface. This helps with the longevity of the paint so that you won’t have to apply another coat for a long time.
As a matter of fact, applying primer actually extends the amount of time you’ll have to wait before finishing your paint project because you’ll also have to wait for the primer to dry. There are primers that dry very rapidly, especially outside, and some are even ready for painting in as little as 30 minutes.
—
There are three steps of painting that include the undercoat, the color and the varnish. The undercoat prevents the paint from cracking while also providing a surface to work on. The next step is to put paint on and make sure it is smooth and even. You may need to put some more layers of paint on or you may use a different color to try and achieve the desired result. Finally, you will need to apply varnishes or topcoats that seal in your work, provide UV protection and give a final glossy finish.
Oil paints typically dry within 2-6 hours depending on the type of paint used and ambient temperature in the room they are stored in. Oil paints come in many different varieties including: cold pressed, tube oil, linseed oil etc…
