It's possible to paint an exterior all winter long--if you live in Florida. While painting exteriors in winter time gets impossible when the snow is falling and temperatures dip below freezing, some new paints that can be applied at lower temperatures or when there's impending rain allow painters to extend the painting season. Oil-based exterior paints can also be used in colder temperatures, although they will take a long time to dry if it doesn't warm up. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Be realistic. While it's possible to paint in colder temperatures even with water-based paint, other materials such as caulking, fillers and primers still need warmer weather. Be prepared to work for shorter times and bundle up.
2. Use either oil-based exterior paint, or an acrylic paint designed to be applied at temperatures as low as 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Several paint companies manufacture low-temperature paint. If cool and/or wet weather is a factor, consider a product like Sherwin-Williams Resilience exterior acrylic paint, which develops a moisture-resistant film in half the time as regular paint.
3. Check the weather forecast. A high of 60 degrees Fahrenheit still means that for most of the day the air temperature will be lower. Paint relies on air temperature for proper drying, but the surface to be painted can't get too cold, either. Even when it's 60 degrees outside, the surface temperature of siding in the shade may only be 45 degrees.
4. Start working as soon as the weather warms up to either 35 or 50 degrees, depending on the product you're using. Follow the sun around the house as you work. Stop work around mid-afternoon, or when the temperature starts dropping.
5. Wait until the surface temperature is five degrees higher than the dew point to apply primer or paint. The dew point is the temperature at which moisture condenses and creates droplets (dew.) It's a combination of barometric pressure, humidity and temperature. If dew settles on paint before it's dried, it will make it patchy or blotchy because moisture will become trapped under the paint film.
6. Allow extra drying time between coats, because cooler weather will slow the drying time. (Allow at least double the recommended drying time, especially for darker colors, which may dry even more slowly because of the added pigment.)
Tags: drying time, acrylic paint, colder temperatures, degrees Fahrenheit, possible paint, surface temperature