Living in the South means we are typically blessed with mild winters compared to many other states, but every once and a while we get a long and cold winter where the temperature stays below 50 degrees most of the week and sometimes for the entire month. You may be thinking about selling your home in the spring and need to get painting the outside of your home off of your “To Do” list, so that brings up the very pertinent question, “how cold is too cold to paint your home’s exterior?”

Most professional painters will tell you that you need to do your research depending on how extensive the job is, which type of paint your contractor is using, and the color change, if there is one. But you also need to talk to the paint store specialist to find out the answer to what temperature is the too cold for exterior paint to dry properly – Different paint manufactures state minimum temperature application on their labels, and some state that you can paint as cold as 35 degrees..

But not only should you ask that question, but you should also ask how could can it be to paint with exterior paint if it’s a sunny day and if you start early enough in the morning to take advantage of the warmest part of the day because an experienced and skilled professional painter can paint the exterior of your home in temperatures ranging between 30º-50º providing the day is mostly sunny as most paints will begin to dry within 15-20 minutes.

One thing to consider is that normally the home is pressure washed prior to painting, so you want the exterior to be thoroughly dry before caulk and paint are applied though. Depending upon the amount of shade that surrounds your home, it may need an extra day to dry.

That being said, if there is rain in the forecast, make sure to cease the painting if there is not ample time to allow each coat to dry at least 4-6 hours.

If you are going with a much deeper color change, expect two coats of paint, and a longer drying time to allow for the added tint in the paint.