Parking Lot Paint Dry Times

Fresh paint can make your parking lot safer and more attractive. Most parking lots need new paint every two years or when the paint loses more than 25 percent of its original visibility. Since your parking lot is critical to your business, you probably want to have it open to traffic as quickly as possible when you hire a contractor to repaint your lot. In most cases, the paint will be dry to the touch in as little as 30 minutes, but you should not allow vehicles onto the lot for at least one hour. The exact timing will depend on the type of paint, the temperature, the condition of the pavement, the wind speed and the relative humidity. Therefore, although only your parking lot maintenance contractor can supply you with a precise answer, the following information can help you understand how the various factors could affect when you are able to reopen your lot.

How Long Does Parking Lot Paint Take to Dry?

What Factors Affect the Drying Time of Parking Lot Paint?

Although several factors can affect the paint’s drying time, it is important to remember that it is often a combination of factors that will influence the speed at which the paint will dry.

• What are the weather conditions? Most paints cannot be applied if the temperature is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but some paints only require a minimum temperature of 45 degrees. Relative humidity levels should be below 80 percent, and a light wind can be beneficial. When the temperature is cool, the humidity is high, and the wind is light, the drying time will be longer, especially for water-based paints. The effect exists for oil-based paints, but it is not as significant.
• Is the pavement new? New concrete and asphalt pavement may absorb too much paint, yielding a thinner appearance. To remedy the situation, your contractor will likely apply a second coat of paint. This will provide better results than using a thicker first coat, but it may require you to keep traffic from your lot for a little more time.
• What type of paint do you prefer? The broad categories for most parking lot paints are oil-based and water-based. However, specialty paints exist within each of these two categories. For example, you can choose a fast-drying, a highly reflective or a long-lasting, high-performance paint. There are also cold-applied and hot-applied thermoplastic paints. The type of paint you choose can affect the application time as well as the drying time. Most asphalt contractors prefer to use water-based paints on asphalt pavement and oil-based paints on concrete pavement, but your contractor may have a different recommendation.
• What is the condition of the pavement? Older pavements may require repairs or additional treatments. If you want your contractor to apply seal coat, he will need to do this before using the paint. If you need asphalt patching or crack repairs, he will also need to complete these tasks first.

Alpha Paving is an asphalt paving company and we help our customers spend their asphalt maintenance and paving budgets wisely. We offer an extensive list of services, including seal coat, parking lot striping, concrete work, asphalt paving, and asphalt repairs. We can install an asphalt overlay, construct a new road, repair a street or build a new parking lot. Our clients include apartment complexes, shopping centers, airports, municipalities, restaurants, hospitals, subdivisions, manufacturing facilities, religious institutions, office parks and educational institutions. We deliver exceptional work and superior customer service at affordable prices. You can request a free quote by submitting the online form or calling 512-677-9001.

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Parking lots have become an essential part of virtually every business that has employees, customers, guests, clients, students, patients, or tenants. A well-maintained, visually appealing parking lot can do a great deal to encourage people to stop in to purchase your goods or services, lease from you, or select your facility. Crack repairs and sealcoating are important procedures that enhance safety, help protect your pavement, and boost your curb appeal. However, without professional parking lot striping, your property will not be as attractive or safe as you might like. Naturally, you would rather your parking lot not be closed for a lengthy time during and after the striping, so you may wonder how long the paint will take to dry. Most types of parking lot paint will be dry to the touch within 20 minutes or so, but you should allow at least an hour before you allow vehicles to access your pavement. The precise drying time will need to be provided by your striping contractor because there are several variables that affect it. These factors include the type of paint and the weather.

How Does the Type of Paint Affect the Drying Time of Parking Lot Striping?

Lot striping paints can be divided into two broad categories, which are water-based and oil-based. Typically, water-based paints are the leading choice for asphalt striping and marking, but oil-based paints tend to be more popular for concrete parking lots. Between the two types, water-based paints usually have a shorter drying time than their oil-based cousins. However, there are specialty paints available in each category, including oil-based paints that are formulated to have shorter drying times. Ask your parking lot painting service provider to explain the pros and cons of all the different options that are available to you.

What Impact Does the Weather Have on the Drying Time of Parking Lot Striping?

As experienced striping and sealcoating contractors know, the weather plays a critical role in the evaporation of water from paints and sealcoats. Evaporation rates are increased by heat, decreased by humidity, increased by exposure to sunlight, and slightly increased by light, steady breezes. Separately, each of these can impact the rate of evaporation, but they can also combine to increase or decrease the drying time of asphalt striping paint. For example, if the temperature is 50 degrees or more, the humidity is low, the winds are relatively low and consistent, and the day is sunny, the paint will dry faster than it would if the humidity is oppressively high, the skies are heavily overcast, and the winds are nonexistent even if there is no difference in the temperature. This is why asphalt maintenance contractors carefully monitor all weather conditions leading up to and throughout the day of the work. Coincidentally, the best conditions for lot striping are almost identical to the best conditions for asphalt sealcoating, so scheduling both services with the same contractor can typically help you get your lot reopened faster.

Does RDC Paving Offer a Parking Lot Painting Service?

RDC Paving offers lot striping, pavement marking, and many other services, including sealcoating, concrete repair, asphalt crack repair, asphalt milling, residential asphalt paving, asphalt repair, concrete curbing, asphalt paving, and asphalt resurfacing. We have an exceptional reputation for superior workmanship and exemplary customer service. For a free estimate, submit our quote request form online, or call 512-920-9155 to reach our Hutto office.