What is the Lowest/Coldest Temperature I can Paint Outside?
Painting your home can bring new life to the exterior as well as the overall look of your home. No matter what your reasoning is for painting your home, it is important to understand the temperature requirements of the paint you are using so the process runs smoothly. One common misunderstanding is that a home can be painted no matter what temperature it is outside and that can lead to potential problems. Before you start painting the exterior of your home, make sure the temperature is ideal so the paint job looks spectacular when you are finished.
What Happens To Paint When it is Too Hot or Cold Outside?
Painting outside when it is too hot or too cold for the paint can lead to a terrible painting job that will have to be completed again later. More specifically, these extreme temperatures for exterior paint cause it to not bind together properly. This eventually leads to cracking and peeling paint which is not a good look on any home.
How Cold is Too Cold?
Knowing the minimum and maximum temperatures for the paint you are using is very important. The temperatures can vary depending on the type if paint you are using as well as the brand. This means that the coldest temperature you can paint the exterior of your home in will vary. However, there is a general rule of thumb for oil and latex based paints. For oil based paint, you will not want to paint the exterior of your home when it is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. For latex based paint, you will not want to paint when the temperature is below 50 degree Fahrenheit outside. Additionally, it is important to take note of the relative humidity because this can help or hurt your drying time for both types of pain. You will ideally want to pain on a day that has humidity that is between 40% and 70% for the best drying conditions.
Tips for Painting the Exterior of Your Home
Now that you know hold cold is too cold to paint outside, there are some tricks you can use to your advantage if the temperatures are close to these levels. First, you will want to paint on a sunny day when the heat of the sun adds a bit more warmth to the surface of your home. Next, you will want to work your way around the home on colder days and paint in the sun. On warmer days, you will should try to not paint in the sun because it can make it too hot for the paint.
Painting the exterior of your home is a big task to take on. Contact us today to see what our professional painters can do to assist with this process.