How Long Does Emulsion Paint Take to Dry?

Most emulsion or latex paints dry faster than any oil-based paint - you're looking at around one to two hours for the wall to be touch dry.

It's worth waiting another couple of hours if you need to apply a second coat since, although it might feel dry, there is a risk that your brush or roller will pick up slightly damp paint underneath and create streaks.

If you opt for eggshell paint, commonly used in high-moisture kitchens and bathrooms, we'd recommend waiting four to six hours for the walls to be touch dry and up to 24 hours before applying a further cost.

The time it takes to wait between coats is important, if frustrating, because a second coat will glide smoothly onto a dry wall and create a perfectly even finish - often avoiding the need for any further touch-ups!

What Impacts the Time it Takes for a Coat of Emulsion to Dry?

Several variables can speed up or slow down your drying process:

• The application process - thick coats of paint inevitably take longer to dry. If you re-coat a thick layer of emulsion too soon, you'll get a gloopy texture and an uneven appearance.
• Humidity - damp, wet rooms can multiply the time required for paint to dry completely, so you can open windows to improve the ventilation.
• Temperature - standard rooms at ambient warmth are ideal, but a cold room or very hot room can equally cause the paint to struggle to set.

It is common to assume that because emulsion feels dry quickly, it's ready to paint over - but drying and curing are two steps of the same process.

The solvents in the paint need to evaporate for a wall to be touch dry, but the paint still won't cure to its maximum harness for a while yet, and sometimes for a few days.

Oil-based vinyl paints cure in a week, whereas water-based emulsions take about a month to cure, but you'll usually be fine to paint over the coat in around four hours if the conditions are right.

Things to Avoid to Help Emulsion Paint Dry Faster

Let's run through some tips, highlighting the stress factors that mean your emulsion won't harden properly or can become damaged.

Temperatures are important since emulsion paints are designed to be used in generally warm spaces - if you paint in a room below 10 °C, your walls will have difficulty setting.

High humidity conditions above 85% are also far from ideal, so if you are decorating in the summer or the weather forecasts indicate more elevated than normal humidity, it's best to hold off for a few days.

Any contact with steam from a shower, washing machine or kitchen will add moisture to the damp paint and mean you need to wait for that moisture to disperse before the paint can begin drying again.

Each emulsion paint brand will come with the manufacturer's guidelines about drying times. 

However, it's crucial to remember that these are indicative and based on standard conditions.

Therefore, if any of the above occurs, you should be prepared to wait longer before applying another coat, hanging objects on the wall, or resting furniture on a new layer of emulsion.