Painting a House in Rainy Weather

Painting a house, whether indoors or outdoors, is a project that always seems to follow its own schedule. If you had to wait to paint until the sky was crystal clear and blue, the painting would never be finished.

So it helps to know if you can bring your painting to less-than-perfect seasons. Paint and water don't mix. Can you paint on a rainy or semi-rainy day? If so, will the paint take so long to dry that it will affect its color or texture?

Painting in the rain

Never when the surface is wet
Never when the surface was wet recently
Interior paint is usually good
Unaffected by moisture unless condensation forms on the surface
Low temperatures (generally below 34 F) will prevent the paint from curing

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When can you paint in the rain?

You can paint the exterior and interior of your home when it rains, but not when the rain hits the painted surface. This applies to the entire painting period: starting with the initial unpainted (and dry) surface to the eventual fully cured painted surface.

Interior surfaces can be painted when it rains outside, as long as the rain does not reach the interior of the house. Since it is common to open windows during painting, be careful that rain does not splash through windows or open screens on window sills or painted walls.

For both exterior and interior surfaces, you can expect paint to take longer to dry in wet conditions on a rainy day than it does on dry, sunny days. This will delay the time until you can apply a second coat of paint.

Also, be careful of humid conditions that cause condensation to form on the surface.

Determine when you can paint in the rain

Many experts do not recommend applying paint, even at the slightest sign of rain. But if you live in an area prone to rain, this is generally not possible. Professional painters especially cannot afford to stop painting the exterior every time a rain cloud appears on the horizon.

The painting season is determined by weather conditions like humidity and temperature, not by terms like fall or winter. As long as you are safe within these climatic limits, it can be considered a painting season.

To determine if a surface can be painted in the rain, consider:

Actual conditions

Is the surface visibly wet now? Even a few drops of rain will be considered wet. An actively wet surface cannot be painted until it dries completely.

Recent conditions

When was the surface last wet? Even if a surface doesn't appear wet, there may be latent moisture that can affect the paint job.

An exterior wall that has been rained on may require four hours of drying time in direct sunlight and temperatures of 72 degrees Fahrenheit or higher to fully dry for painting. Ideally, wait a full day for the surface to dry. Even if flat surfaces have dried, other areas may not be, such as:

Sections that hide from the sun
Cutting and shaping
Fine cracks in the coating
nail holes

A common scenario: you touch the wall and it dries. But when the brush passes through a nail hole, it releases accumulated water. If you don't notice it right away, the water will run off the freshly painted surface, creating light streaks. The only solution to this problem is an extra coat of paint.

Temperature

Is the temperature okay? Is the outside temperature below the minimum recommendation specified on the paint can? Temperature and humidity work together. The lower the temperature, the longer it takes for the outer surface to dry.

Tip

Some paints can be applied in temperatures as low as 34 degrees Fahrenheit. But always think ahead, check the weather report and create a buffer zone for yourself. For example, if you're painting exactly 34 degrees mid-morning and expect it to freeze later in the day, you're overdoing it.

Will temperatures drop below the minimum? Do not paint if temperatures are expected to drop below minimum within 10 hours of applying paint. Check the label on the paint can for temperature recommendations.

Fix a rain painted surface

It is difficult to repair a painted surface that has not yet hardened but has been painted. Water forms currents on the painted surface, affecting both the color and texture of the paint.

The best way to fix this is to wait until the paint is completely dry.