How Long Does Spray Paint Take to Dry – In the midst of doing a specific spray painting project,
you may start wondering how long does spray paint take to dry.
You are also eager to immediately get back to finish your work.
For the most part,
the back of some spray paint cans will tell you how long you have to wait to get the spray paint thoroughly dry.
This isn’t necessarily a reliable approximation since there are plenty of factors,
that can affect the amount of time it takes to completely dry.
Factors that Contribute to How Long Does Spray Paint Take to Dry
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The Thickness of the Spray Paint’s Coating
The first obvious factor that affects the drying time of spray paint is the thickness of a paint coat.
The thicker the layers, the longer you will have to wait for it to completely dry.
However,
the good thing about using spray paint is that you have full control over the thickness of the coating.
This is something that you will never get when you use a brush.
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The Type of Surface
How long you are going to wait for the spray paint to thoroughly dry can also be measured by the type of surface you are painting on.
The metal surface usually dries rather quickly as this material is not overly porous.
It can take around 10 minutes to dry in warmer temperatures.
If you apply the spray paint over cardboard material,
it will take around 15 minutes to completely dry in a ventilated room since cardboard is a very porous material.
Other types of surfaces, such as glass and rubber
—though a little bit unusual materials
—will usually take approximately 15 minutes to dry between layers.
However,
they will likely take more or less 24 hours for the paint to fully dry.
Read more: How Much to Respray a Car – Easy Estimation Guide
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Environmental Conditions
Another factor that significantly affects ‘how long does spray paint take to dry’ is the environmental aspect.
In humid conditions,
the paint typically takes a long time to dry completely.
In general,
the spray paints would be best to be used in a less moist environment,
or else, a more extended period of time could be required to dry the whole spray painted surface.
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Temperature Effects – How Long Does Spray Paint Take to Dry
The temperature also considerably affects how long the spray paint needs to dry.
For the majority of paints, the ideal temperature ranges from 65 to 85°F.
Suppose you spray paint in a much hotter climate.
In that case,
the drying time will be significantly affected since higher temperatures are not suitable for this.
Colder is not really worse, either.
But make sure it’s not too low, as this will freeze out the damp paint.
The probabilities of this incident are relatively low.
Still, you will need to take the climate of your area into consideration before starting to spray paint.
Image cover profile by Jonathan Ford – @jonfordphotos – www.unsplash.com
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The Type of Spray Paint
The last factor that also affects ‘how long does spray paint take to dry’ is the type of spray paint.
If you use polyurethane,
the drying time is quicker than other spray paints available in the market.
Yet if you opt for latex or enamel paints, you will need around 7 to 15 hours to dry thoroughly.