How Long Does it Take for Paint to Dry?
How Long Does it Take for Paint to Dry?
If you have undertaken any sort of painting project, I’m sure the question has come into your mind: “How long does it take for paint to dry?” If you have ever asked yourself this question, you’re not alone! Depending on what kind of paint you use for your project, you will need to plan accordingly and know what to expect when it comes to dry times for paint. Let’s take a few minutes to examine two of the most popular paint types and what sort of planning you’ll need to take into consideration. These two types of paint are latex based and oil based paints.
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How Long does it Take Latex Paint to Dry?
Latex based paints are typically used indoors for furniture painting projects and interior walls. Because latex paint is water based, it dries very quickly and allows for each coat to be applied only a few hours after the previous coat. Latex paint will typically be dry to the touch within one hour, but you must realize that it isn’t quite ready for its next coat. Just because it is dry to the touch of a hand, doesn’t mean it isn’t still wet just below that layer. Make sure to allow at least 4 hours for the latex-based paint to sit before you apply a second coat of paint.
How Long does it Take Oil Paint to Dry?
Oil-based paint is another appealing option for homeowners because it is more durable than its latex counterpart. This increased durability does have its tradeoffs, though. Oil-based paint is much more complicated to clean up and it requires additional time to dry. So how long does it take oil paint to dry? After about 8 hours of applying, oil-based paint should be dry to the touch. Just like latex paint, you don’t want to apply a second coat just because the paint is dry to the touch of your hand. An additional coat can be applied 24 hours after the previous coat was applied. That’s right, an entire day of waiting! If you do decide to paint with oil, expect the timeline of your project to be at least twice as long compared to painting with latex paint.
Ways to Shorten Paint Drying Time
The time it takes paint to dry can definitely test your patience. Lucky for you, there are a few things you can do to speed up the process! The first thing you should do is close your windows. With open windows, moisture from outside air can increase the humidity of your room which will actually cause your paint to dry slower. To decrease the humidity once the windows are closed, you will want to get air circulating in the room. To do this, run your air conditioner and turn on a fan inside the room. These tips won’t cut your dry time down drastically, but you can expect to see a noticeable difference.
