Painting Outside in Cold Weather

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Danny Lipford: If you’re like me, some of those chores you said you’d get done back in the spring slipped over into the summer, then the fall. And now the winter is here, and you still haven’t touched them.

Well, I’ve never be one to encourage procrastination; but if there’s a paint job on that list, you may need to keep putting it off for a few more months. The reason is this—paint simply doesn’t cure as well at lower temperatures, especially if the humidity is high.

The fact that the paint dries slower may not seem like a problem, but over the long haul it can mean a shorter life for that paint job. Below 50 degrees Fahrenheit the chemical reactions in latex paints slow down, and it becomes difficult for it to form a film or stick to the surface where you’ve applied it.

Now, that means that the paint will likely fail far sooner than it should. In other words, you’ll have that paint job back on your list of chores before you really want it.

Now, if you’re fortunate enough to have temperatures above 50 degrees this time of the year, think about this. You still have less daylight, and that’s a real important factor in drying paint. So you’ll want to wrap up all of your paint work at least a couple of hours before the sun sets, so that it has some time to dry before temperatures drop and dew starts to form.

So if you’re thinking about painting, make sure that you keep an eye on the thermometer, so that you don’t have to do the job over again too soon.