What temperature can I still paint outside?

HOW LONG CAN YOU PAINT OUTSIDE FOR? That is a question that we get all of the time. Even with snow on the ground, people ask if I can "squeeze them in". The truth is there is not an exact number or a certain day that I could tell people. But the truth is, that it varies from year to year. However there are a few aspects that we can look at to determine if it is a good idea to paint outside or not. Why are people confused? People go to the paint store and often times they see on the label that you can paint tell 35ﾟF. People just assume that that means that if the temperature is over that, that it is OK. That label is referring to surface temperature. Not air temperature. Even though it may hit 40 or 45ﾟ in the Sun, often times there can be a very strong wind which will make it a lot colder. This can create wind burn on the paint. Freezing the too of the coating and forming chrystals. This will make the coating separate and of coarse this is not good for you, or your home or place of business. Also, another thing to keep in mind is that if you are working the side of the house that does not have any Sun, that side can easily be 10 or 15ﾟ colder than the side that is in the Sun. Also, those labels can be very deceiving. If you read the fine print often times they are wanting the temperature to be above 35ﾟ for at least 24 hours after application. When it is cold out, the paint can stay active for many hours. In the past I have applied paint following the directions, only to come back the next morning (several hours later) and see that the paint was actually still wet.

Many untrained painters do not know or possibly even care about this, and will go ahead and paint anyways. I end up getting a call to fix their mistakes the following spring. Much of this is common sense. If you are wearing a jacket and are still cold, it is only logical that the paint is cold too. If you don't want to worry about all of this give Kurtzbach Painting a call, we consider all of us. We will make sure that it is done right and your house looks good for many years to come.