How Cold Can You Paint Exterior Latex Paint
Latex paint is most susceptible to freezing.
How cold can you paint exterior latex paint. The optimal painting temperature would be 77ºF but it is still acceptable to paint within a wide range of temperatures. For example at an ideal temperature of 75 degrees F you can usually recoat after four hours. Latex paint is water-based meaning that it can freeze at the same temperature that water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
While oil-based paint can freeze it freezes at a much lower temperature than latex paint. Until a few years ago you needed to paint above 50 degrees F. There are some paint manufacturers who say that you can paint as cold as 35 degrees.
On average you can apply polyurethane over latex paint 6 hours after the final coat of latex paint was applied. Ideally you want the temperature to be in that optimal 70F to 80F range. However there is a general rule of thumb for oil and latex based paints.
If your finished paint result isnt what youd imagined well replace your paint free. According to The Paint Quarterly Institute most latex paints shouldnt be applied when the air temperature gets below 35F to 50F. Since temperature varies more widely outside that is where most issues arise.
It should be at least 50 F when youre applying the paint and shouldnt drop below 32 F at night for several days after says Rico de Paz who oversees Consumer Reports paint tests. This means that the coldest temperature you can paint the exterior of your home in will vary. The maximum and minimum recommended temperatures for exterior paint vary depending on the type oil or latex and specific brand of paint used but a general rule of thumb is that oil-based paint can be applied when the temperatures are between 40- 90 F and latex between 50- 85 F.
If your finished paint result isnt what youd imagined well replace your paint free. Utopically with the products we utilize we like to see daytime temps in the 40s Fahrenheit when painting exteriors though if the daytime high is projected to be 35-40 and long term 3 days overnight lows are projected to be above 15 degrees we are beyond ok conducting our exterior painting work that we may be working on any given project. Ad Look through our Colour Schemes and Ideas for inspiration to get you started.