
How Hot Weather Impacts Virginia Beach Exterior Painting
There are few home updates more refreshing and beautiful than a new coat of paint to the exterior. Summer is the time of year that most people think is best for exterior painting since it’s usually warm and dry. While it’s true that you should get your home painted when there will be a long period of warmth outside, many people make the mistake of waiting until it’s blistering hot out to hire professional exterior home painting services. In areas that experience particularly hot summers, such as Virginia Beach VA, your home has a high risk of suffering from ugly paint defects due to heat. Here are the main ways hot weather can affect your exterior paint job.
Heat Messes Up Paint Curing
The best paint jobs require careful application with a good quality paint, preferably done by professional exterior home painting services, and allowing the paint to cure properly. Curing is the process of paint fully bonding to the material on which it is being applied. Until paint has properly cured, it is at a high risk of being damaged when touched, and it will certainly wash away when exposed to water.
It’s very important to remember that drying and curing are not the same thing. Paint can appear to be dry in minutes or hours, but the process of curing takes at least two weeks or up to 60 days depending on the type of paint and environment. Heat makes paint dry faster but accelerated drying actually hinders the curing process. When left to dry in high heat, a coat of paint can experience these issues quickly.
• Fading
• Bubbling
• Cracking
• Discoloration
• Chipping
• Scratching
High Humidity Makes Drying and Curing Difficult
Many of the hot days in summer also tend to be extremely humid. The increased moisture in the air makes it difficult for the water within the paint to evaporate, which extends the drying time. If there is enough water vapor in the air, the paint will start turning into a gel-like consistency, making application and solidification very difficult. When painting on porous surfaces, like wood or concrete, high humidity will make the paint blister, peel and discolor.
In areas that tend to get high levels of humidity in the summer frequently, such as Virginia Beach VA, you’ll need to schedule an appointment with professional exterior home painting services during times when the humidity levels outside will be between 40% and 50%. Never get your home painted when the humidity is higher than 70%.
Schedule painting appointments during the driest times of year, like autumn or spring, and between late morning and early afternoon when the humidity is usually at its lowest point during the day.
How Hot is Too Hot for Exterior Painting?
Between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit is still technically safe for exterior painting, but depending on other factors, such as humidity and wind, you may start to experience heat-related problems while painting. You should never paint the exterior of your home when it is over 90 degrees out. In addition, the surface on which you’re applying the paint will be higher than the temperature outside when it’s in direct sunlight. Wood surfaces will be between 10 and 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature, depending on what color it is currently painted, concrete can be nearly 30 degrees hotter in direct sunlight, and metal and plastic can skyrocket to dangerously high temperatures in the sun.
Ideally, you should have your house painted when it’s between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun, if you’re using oil-based paint. If you’re using latex paint, the best temperature range is between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tricks for Working Around Heat-Related Problems
Schedule painting jobs on days when the weather forecast predicts several days of clear and warm weather within the recommended temperature and humidity levels. Professional exterior home painting services, such as Hughes Painting, will also follow additional tricks for beating the heat, such as working on walls when they’re not in direct sunlight whenever possible, using high-quality paint, and working with you to set a painting schedule that will work effectively with the weather.
Get Your Exterior Painting Consultation Today
If you live in the Virginia Beach VA area and you’re lost in a sea of search results while using the term “painters near me,” look no further than Hughes Painting. No matter if you’re looking for a consultation on color options, need help setting up an appointment that works around your schedule, or if you need any other help regarding questions or concerns about the exterior paint job of your home, they will provide you with a free quote and an extremely professional paint job that will last for many years. Contact Hughes Painting today to get your estimate before the heat of summer sets in.
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