Is it too late to paint the exterior of my house in October?

This question gains serious momentum from the middle of September to the middle of October.  When is too late to paint the exterior?  What factors can halt my exterior from making the deadline and can the quality and longevity of that paint job be affected by late season repainting?  Below are the factors ESP Painting uses to determine when to paint and when not to paint.

Temperature

If the temperature is below 37 degrees we will not paint.  There is an old addige that paint must be applied in 60 degree weather.  Our paints have been formulated to perform and give longevity even down to freezing temperatures.  Yes, it is true.

Moisture factors

1. Moisture on the surface to be painted.  If it’s wet, it does not get painted, period.  Painting over wet surfaces causes all sorts of issues.  Metal gutters especially.  Condensation has to be evaporated naturally, not by a swiping rag motion.  If the wet surface does not evaporate before noon, we will not paint that day.
2. Fog – Fall like temperature swings and rainstorms create ground moisture that does not evaporate quickly creating low lying valley fog.  If this if present, painting cannot happen because it condenses on the surfaces to be painted.  ESP Painting has a rule here too.  If the fog does not burn off or get blown away by winds by noon, we will not paint that day.
3. Rain – Who paints is the rain anyways? Not ESP Painting.   There does not exist a house paint that is moisture resistant during application.  However there are paints that dry quickly and can create a moisture resistant coating in less than an hour.  Yes, I have tested it.  Painting and hour before a downpour of rain… and it worked well too.

Daylight

How many hours does one need to successfully repaint a home.  My answer is at least 8 hours.  Daylight savings creates a shorter day for us.  Starting first of November we roll those clocks back an hour, sun sets earlier as well as days are shorter.  This is our usual cut off date for exterior repainting if rain fog and moisture does not get us first!

Reach out to ESP Painting in the spring to get the best painting dates for your home.