Reference

Drying and Recoat Times by Paint Type

How long each kind of paint and finish takes to dry, to take another coat and to cure, at standard conditions and adjusted for a cold, damp or still room.

Last updated

Three different clocks

Paint does not simply “dry”. Three stages matter, and they run on very different clocks:

  • Touch-dry: the surface no longer feels tacky and dust will not stick. Nothing more.
  • Recoat: the film is firm enough to take another coat without lifting, wrinkling or dragging. This is the time that sets a painting schedule.
  • Cure: the film has reached its full hardness and washability. Until then it marks, blocks (sticks to things pressed against it) and scuffs more easily.

Data sheets give these at a standard condition, usually 77 °F (25 °C) and 50% relative humidity. Colder, damper or stiller air slows all three.

Times at 77 °F (25 °C) and 50% humidity

Product Touch-dry Recoat Full cure Minimum temperature
Interior latex wall paint 1 h 4 h about 21 days 50 °F (10 °C)
Exterior latex paint 1 h 4 h about 21 days 50 °F (10 °C)
Latex primer 30 min 1 h about 7 days 50 °F (10 °C)
Oil-based or alkyd primer 2 h 24 h about 7 days 40 °F (4 °C)
Oil-based or alkyd enamel 6 h 24 h about 30 days 40 °F (4 °C)
Waterborne alkyd enamel 2 h 16 h about 21 days 50 °F (10 °C)
Shellac primer 15 min 45 min about 3 days 40 °F (4 °C)
Oil-based polyurethane 4 h 24 h about 30 days 50 °F (10 °C)
Water-based polyurethane 30 min 2 h about 21 days 50 °F (10 °C)
Oil-based penetrating stain 4 h 24 h about 3 days 50 °F (10 °C)

Many latex paints are now labelled for application down to 35 °F (2 °C); the minimum is printed on the can and on the data sheet, and it applies to the surface as well as the air.

Temperature

Drying slows by about half for every 18 °F (10 °C) below 77 °F, a rule of thumb for evaporation and chemical curing alike. Heat speeds it up, but only to a point: above about 90 °F paint skins before it levels. Our calculator caps the speed-up at a factor of 0.6.

temperature factor = 2 ^ ((77 − °F) ÷ 18) = 2 ^ ((25 − °C) ÷ 10) adjusted time = data-sheet time × temperature factor × humidity factor × airflow factor
Temperature Factor Latex touch-dry Latex recoat Alkyd recoat
41 °F (5 °C) 4.00 4 h 16 h 96 h
50 °F (10 °C) 2.83 2 h 50 min 11 h 19 min 67 h 53 min
59 °F (15 °C) 2.00 2 h 8 h 48 h
68 °F (20 °C) 1.41 1 h 25 min 5 h 39 min 33 h 56 min
77 °F (25 °C) 1.00 1 h 4 h 24 h
86 °F (30 °C) 0.71 42 min 2 h 50 min 16 h 58 min
95 °F (35 °C) 0.60 36 min 2 h 24 min 14 h 24 min

At 41 °F latex is below the usual 50 °F minimum: the times are shown for comparison, but the film may not form properly at all.

Humidity and airflow

Water-based paints dry by evaporating water, so damp air slows them most. Solvent-borne paints are affected about half as much.

Relative humidity Water-based factor Solvent-borne factor
50% or less 1.00 1.00
60% 1.33 1.17
70% 1.67 1.33
80% 2.00 1.50
90% 2.33 1.67
Airflow Factor
Good: a fan, open windows 0.85
Normal 1.00
Poor: closed room, basement 1.25

Above about 85% humidity, latex can stay soft and leach sticky brown streaks of surfactant, and exterior work can collect dew in the evening. Wait for drier air rather than pushing on.

Worked lookups

  • Latex at 60 °F and 70% humidity, normal airflow: the calculator gives a recoat after about 12 h 50 min instead of 4 h, and touch-dry in 3 h 12 min. Two coats in one day are not realistic in that room.
  • Alkyd enamel at 68 °F: 24 h × 1.41 = about 34 hours before the second coat.
  • Latex at 77 °F with a fan running: 4 h × 0.85 = 3 h 24 min.

Sources and notes

The standard-condition times are typical values from manufacturers’ technical data sheets for each product class (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr and PPG for paints; Zinsser and Kilz for primers; Minwax, Varathane and Bona for clear finishes), rounded. The temperature rule is a common approximation of how evaporation and curing slow in the cold, and the humidity and airflow factors are site estimates; neither is a laboratory model. The product’s own data sheet is the authority, and where it is stricter, follow it. Recoating too early causes wrinkling, lifting and poor adhesion that no later coat fixes.

Calculators that use this table

The guide dry, recoat and cure explains what happens in the film at each stage.