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How Long Does it Take for Interior Paint to Dry in the San Francisco Bay Area?

How Long Does it Take for Interior Paint to Dry in the San Francisco Bay Area?

There are several factors that determine how long it might take interior paint to dry in the San Francisco Bay Area. Humidity and temperature are two of the biggest factors. Color, sheen, type, and even your application technique also affect the drying process.

Drying Paint

The biggest effect on how long it will take interior paint to dry in the San Francisco Bay Area is humidity and temperature. Humidity causes any paint job to take longer to dry. The more moisture there is in the air, the longer the process will take because the liquid in the paint will evaporate slower. For example, an interior painting job in the desert will dry significantly faster than an interior job in a rainforest.

In San Francisco the relative humidity tends to be between 84% and 62%. Ideal humidity level painting conditions fall between 55% to 80%, making San Francisco a generally great place to do interior painting year around. Keep in mind that humidity tends to be significantly greater in the early mornings so when humidity levels are unusually high, it can be a good idea to paint a little later in the day. Using a fan is another way of speeding up liquid evaporation.

Curing Paint

Curing is also a factor to be considered when getting interior paint to dry in the San Francisco Bay Area. When comparing the drying properties of oil and latex, it’s easy to get confused. Water based latex paint dries faster than oil. But people often assume that because latex paint dries faster than oil based paint, latex is ultimately the fastest. This is not the case; while latex does dry faster, it cures much slower. Oil based paint will cure in 3 to 4 days under ideal conditions, while it will usually take latex paint up to a month to cure. A paint job isn’t complete until the paint has properly cured, and placing furniture or heavy objects on a surface that has not finished this process can lead to damages on both the paint surface and the surface of the object.

Time Frame and Other Considerations

In ideal conditions interior latex paint takes about an hour to dry, while interior oil takes 3 to 4 hours to dry. If you’re doing more than one coat, allow 3 to 4 hours in between coats for latex and at least 8 hours for oil. To speed up drying time, when applying the paint, make sure that your technique leaves a thin film and not a thick one (using a simple paint brush usually ensures a thin film). Surface plays a role also. Paint dries faster on porous surfaces like drywall because the surface absorbs some of the moisture. Lastly, flatter sheens (flat and eggshell) dry slower than shinier ones (satin, semi-gloss and high gloss). Tint can also affect drying time, so deeper colors (which have more tint) can take a bit longer.


MB Jessee is always available to assist you in any painting job in the San Francisco Bay Area! Please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 510-655-7000!

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“It was a great experience working with MB Jessee. The crew was careful and thorough as they painted the house, sealed stucco cracks, repaired dry-rotted wood, stained the deck, etc. Robert, Gersson, Jose, and all of the people involved in the process from the estimate to the job completion were friendly and professional.”

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Livermore, CA

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“MB Jessee just finished our exterior and we couldn't be happier with our experience. The foreman (Pedro) and lead painter (Ricardo) were incredible to work with: they communicated scheduling clearly, Ricardo was a joy to be around every day, the showed up early every day, were incredibly tidy and did great paint work. The final walk through experience was incredible. Pedro pointed out items I missed demonstrating a clear desire to complete another quality project. I highly recommend them. As others have noted they definitely aren't the cheapest but you quickly realize that you're getting what you pay for. The 3 year guarantee is also a nice touch since there are likely touch up items that will show up after the job is done.”

— Joshua Jansen

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“The painters at MB Jesse are top notch! Cesar's team was super friendly and helpful. They were very polite and accommodating. Their expertise in everything painting related was evident in their attention to detail and efficiency painting tricky spaces. The apartment looks brand new!”

— Adam Swisher

“In September, MBJessee finished painting two sides of our 3-story condominium building (six owners). We were impressed by the professionalism of the company and every one of its workers, Matt Jessee couldn't have been more helpful in planning the project. His painters were well-trained, easy to communicate with and eager to please. In addition to painting the stucco, they made extensive repairs on windows and frames, which will save us considerable money in the future. They finished earlier than anticipated, with as many as five men working on the job, and the scaffolding came down the next day. All of us were delighted with the results. Now my husband and I are looking forward to having MB Jessee paint our own apartment later this month. Matt and Gustavo (who will be our crew leader again) have explained how they will work to make the painting proceed smoothly while we're living here, and they have been endlessly patient with our protracted decision-making process. If you look at their website, you'll learn that MB Jessee is an exemplary company that takes good care of its workers as well as its customers, and contributes public service projects to the community. All in all, we can't recommend MB Jessee highly enough.”

— Jayne W.
San Francisco, CA

“The finish on my kitchen cabinets had failed, becoming tacky and grimy around the handles. M B Jessee gave me a reasonable quote, far below some others, and did an outstanding job, striping the original varnish and refinishing with a new lacquer finish. The cabinets look like new. Work was done 1 day faster than estimated. The crew was extremely hard-working, considerate, and neat. Highly recommend M B Jessee.”

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San Francisco, CA