Tips on Painting in High Humidity

Living in an area where humidity typically floats around 80% or higher in the summertime presents the Do-it-yourselfer with many challenges that other parts of the country cannot even fathom. As the temperature approaches 100 degrees, with the humidity levels right behind it, motivating yourself to start any project is difficult once you step out of the air conditioning. Many people wonder, is painting in high humidity a good idea? Won’t drying time take forever? The answer to both of those questions (to a certain extent) is yes.

Painting in High Humidity?

If anyone who lives near the coast or Great Lakes waited for the humidity to die down to paint, nothing would ever get done. When humidity is just a fact of life, you have to plan accordingly. If you need to paint your home’s exterior, go for it. Try to pick a stretch of days where it’s not supposed to rain (which can be difficult if you live near lots of water), and do your thing! You want to make sure that the house is as dry as possible before you apply paint. Painting indoors is much more easily manageable, as being inside is usually climate controlled. You can also use dehumidifiers to make sure that paint dries properly inside.

Won’t Drying Time Take Forever?

It will take longer than normal to dry – try to pick a day when the humidity is a bit lower than usual though. But why does it take longer to dry? To boil it down to bare bones, paint is made up of solvents and water. The water is what makes paint a liquid state. When you paint, you’re spreading the paint out, and the water within the paint evaporates. This leaves behind the hard color, or solvents. If the water cannot evaporate because the air is already filled with water, then what happens is the solvents dry first – within the water. This can cause your paint job to bubble, wrinkle, crack, and look horrible! The best thing to do, if you must paint while it’s very humid – apply the paint very thinly.

If you follow these instructions when painting in high humidity climates, you should be good to go. However; if all of this sounds like too much of a pain, you can always contact us! Being based in Louisiana, we are experts on dealing with humidity. Contact us at JMA Painters today.