Is it warm enough to paint?

Is it warm enough to paint? Could it be too humid? If you’re planning to paint your exterior this spring, you can be confident that we will only work on days that are appropriate for the paint to cure properly so the job can last as long as possible. We try to avoid painting within 12 hours of light rains and 36 hours of heavy rains so moisture can fully dry out from the wood siding, trim and other areas of the house.

Additionally, as long as the temperature is consistently above 45 degrees, the paint will cure properly and there will be almost no chance of the resins and binders in the house paint to freeze overnight. A good test is the presence or absence of frost: if the grass is dotted with white in the morning, it’s too cold to paint! Overcast and sunny days are best to commence with residential painting, and you absolutely don’t want your deck stained when expecting rain.

Some homeowners ask about the heat of midsummer and potential risks of painting above 80 degrees. Truth be told, there are many more factors to consider. First, high humidity can affect drying times (increasing the amount of time between coats if you are planning on a two-coat paint job). Second, darker colors tend to absorb more heat, and should best be painted either very early or very late during sunny days in August and September.

The beauty of hiring Elysium is that we keep watch of all these factors for you! While some painting contractors would rush to get the job done, we are committed to only commencing with work when we know it is proper to do so. We check humidity levels, pay attention to the sky, and know the differences in the chemical compounds between brands. Benjamin Moore and Graham Ceramic are generally very durable products, and are requested by a majority of our customers. If you are on a tight schedule and can’t wait for ideal conditions, we may suggest Resilience by Sherwin Williams; this paint is specifically formulated to cure properly during higher humidity and low temperatures. If the day is extremely hot, we will either recommend painting in multiple layers of thin coats, or we will arrive early and stay late to take advantage of the cooler early morning and early evening times.

Since your goals are our goals, you can take heart that we will do our absolute best to ensure:

1) Your paint job will last as long as possible

2) The project will not be compromised by easily avoidable weather conditions

3) Your job is completed on deadline, even if we have to begin several days early to rule out the chances extreme weather may delay the project

Questions about whether the weather will affect your paint job? E-mail us today!

April 8, 2010 at 11:40 am | Uncategorized | No comment

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