When painting a room, does it matter how hot the weather is?

Question

This might sound like a silly question, but I'm serious. It's been over 100 degrees for the past couple of days, and probably will be in the near future, and I have to paint my room this month. Is the heat going to be a problem?

Answer 1

Steve and Dave got the idea. If it's too hot then the paint will dry quicker and the smell and humidity may cause you to have bad babies in the near future providing you don't hurt somebody or pass out from the vapor depending what type of paint you use or the method of application. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations, use a mask if needed, or turn the a/c on while using latex based primers or paints, giving ample time to dry between coats.

FYI- petroleum distillates emulate the hormone estrogen and will give ladies that are sensitive to those levels headaches. It also explanes why alot of guys act like ladies when they drink too much beer. Stick to water clean up or latex based products and not oil based if you can help it and it won't be quite an issue with you or the munchkin minnie me's.

Answer 2

Read the paint can - it'll say right on there what the acceptable working temperatures are.

Answer 3

IT WILL CAUSE THE PAINT TO DRY FASTER THAN NORMAL . IF YOU DON'T WANT OVERLAP MARKS WHERE YOU FINISH OVER WHERE YOU STARTED . HAVE SOMEONE HELP YOU BOTH STARTING AT THE SAME POINT AND GO IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS , THEN WHEN YOU MEET UP AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM ALL THE PAINT WILL BE WET .

Answer 4

YES , IF ITS TO HOT YOU WILL GO MAD... AND SPILL PAINT ALL OVER THE PLACE... WAIT UNTIL THE WEATHER COOLS DOWN BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING.. MY ADVICE FOR NOW IS TO DRINK HEAVILY AND ENJOY THE LAZYNESS EXCUSE OF IT BEING TO HOT TO WORK....  ITS WORKS FOR ME...

Answer 5

It could be a problem. If you are wanting to roll into a wet edge, that edge could be drying by the time you get to it, but not yet dry enough to paint over. How I would deal with this is to do your cutting in first, be generous with how far out from corners and edges you go. Let that dry as long as the re-coat time specified on the paint can, then do your rollling. Unless you're a remarkably slow painter, you should be able to do a wall without any drying problems along the way. Don't be tempted to go back a bit and touch up as you paint; normally you can get away with this but not in weather like you have. Get it on right the first time. If you need to do a second coat, let the first roll coat dry completely, then proceed same as the first time. In hot weather like that, you'll have to watch that your brush and roller don't dry out too fast. Have plastic bags to put them in if you pause work for even 5 minutes, and you may want to rinse the brush in the middle of the job if paint starts drying on it. If you have heat and humidity, put a fan in the window after you've painted but not during painting.

Answer 6

If it's that hot, you don't want to be painting indoors, no matter whether it's bad for the paint or not -- it's bad for YOU.

I suppose if you really needed to get it done you could do it at night when it's cooler. Make sure the ventilation is good.

Answer 7

It will dry faster, so be more careful about leaving the roller or brush out of the paint.  It wouldn't hurt to have a fan to cool you off while you do it, but be sure it's always behind you. Contrary to the shows on TV, the best way to paint is with a large brush, no angle to it, at least 3 1/2" across.  They hold more paint and that's your goal.  Cut in each wall top and bottom, after putting 2" masking on top edge of the baseboards, sticking out horizontally to catch the drips.  Laydown the drop cloths under the tape, so all the floor is covered.  Lay a large cardboard box out flat, and run this on top of the cloth and under the tape to catch the larger mess.  Always work off the cardboard, putting your buckets on it at all times, moving it down as you do each section.  Use a long extension pole, just a few feet shorter than the wall height.  Put the paint in a 5 gallon bucket, but Home Depot sells some great ones that are rectangular, and have a built in rack and cup for the brush. (Always drop the brush or roller in paint  when leaving it for a few minutes. )

   Put the roller sleeve on the roller attached to the extension pole.  Dip the roller in the paint several times to saturate the sleeve.  If you want little texture  use the 3/8" nap, lots of texture the 3/4" nap roller.  Then start in the corner on the left of the starting wall and roll top to bottom.  If the roller is well saturated, you should get 3 roller widths per dip.  Lay it on heavy, and go back and lightly roll over the lap marks to erase them and blend them in.  Always roll top to bottom, then bottom to top without  stopping, keeping an eye on the finish.  Dip again and start the next row.  It should be finished in no time.  I used to put 5 gallons on in 45 minutes, but I did not have to cut in.  You want to cover as much of the cut-in with the roller as possible, but be careful on the ceiling.  You may have to cut it in a second time to get really good coverage.  And on the cutting in, don't be skimpy on the paint in your brush.  Just be sure to limit the brush marks.  Use the edge of the brush to get in to the small places, cut a wide swath around the electrical plates after removing the plates and covering the outlets and switches with tape.  Remove the vent covers and anything else that can be removed.  If painting the ceiling, wrap the the light fixtures with tape too.  Don't even think of opening the paint until the prep is well finished!  Don't forget to sand and wipe down the woodwork before painting, and paint it first, as it's harder to get in the small grooves.  If you overlap onto the wall, it's easier to hide with the wall paint when you cut that in.

Have fun!

Answer 8

you can look on the can and it should give the best temp range to use the paint. but other than that the hotter it is the faster the paint will dry. you don;t really want to paint if its cold and damp where your going to be painting either.