You can paint indoors perfectly well in winter, as long as the room is warm enough and the air can move. Farrow & Ball ask that their paints are not applied below 10°C, and Little Greene's Intelligent finishes need at least 8°C. Keep the heating on, ventilate little and often, and allow longer between coats than you would in summer.
Winter has a lot going for it as a decorating season. The house is quieter, you are spending more time in it, and the low, cool light shows you exactly how a colour will behave, as we explain in why winter is the best time to paint. The only things that change are temperature, damp and daylight, and each is easy to manage.
Photo Credit: Little Greene; Colours Used: Toad (235), Fescue (231), Wood Ash (229)
How cold is too cold
Water-based paint needs warmth to dry and form a proper film. Too cold, and it stays wet for longer, levels badly and can fail to cure properly. The brands set clear limits:
- Farrow & Ball. Their product advice sheets, including the one for Modern Emulsion, say not to paint below 10°C or above 30°C, and to keep relative humidity under 80%.
- Little Greene. The data sheet for Intelligent Matt Emulsion says not to apply when the ambient temperature is below 8°C, and the same minimum applies across the Intelligent range.
- Paint & Paper Library. Check the advice on the tin for the finish you are using, and follow the same principle: a warm, dry room.
Remember that the wall can be colder than the air, particularly an external wall or a room that has been shut up. A cheap room thermometer is worth having.
Warm the room before you start
- Heat the room the day before. Bringing the walls up to temperature is more important than warming the air for an hour.
- Bring the tins inside. Paint left in a cold garage or car will be thick and slow. Keep it in the house overnight so it is at room temperature when you open it.
- Keep the heating steady. Leave it on, at a moderate setting, while you paint and for as long as the paint is drying. Steady warmth is better than short blasts of heat.
- Paint radiators cold. If you are painting a radiator, turn it off and let it cool completely first, and leave it off until the paint is dry.
Photo Credit: Farrow & Ball; Colour Used: Setting Plaster (231)
Ventilate without losing the heat
Both Farrow & Ball and Little Greene ask for good ventilation during application and drying. Even very low odour, water-based paints release moisture as they dry, and in a closed winter room that moisture has nowhere to go.
- Open a window a little, rather than wide, and keep the heating on. A steady trickle of fresh air does more than ten minutes of cold draught.
- Close the door to the rest of the house so the warm, damp air leaves through the window rather than spreading.
- Watch for condensation. Wipe down windows in the morning, and avoid painting a kitchen or bathroom while it is in use for cooking or showers.
- Never paint a damp wall. If a wall feels cold and clammy, warm and air the room until it is dry to the touch.
Allow more time between coats
Farrow & Ball note that drying times may be longer in cooler or more humid conditions, and that applies to every paint. Use the recoat time on the tin as a minimum, not a target. Little Greene give a recoat time of 1 to 4 hours for their Intelligent finishes, with full cure taking up to seven days; in winter, expect to be at the longer end. Farrow & Ball's Modern Emulsion has a typical recoat time of four hours.
If the first coat still feels cool or slightly tacky, wait. A second coat over paint that has not dried through is a common cause of a patchy finish.
Photo Credit: Paint & Paper Library; Colours Used: Truffle (271), Glass IV (584), Sand III (263)
Work with the short days
Daylight is the best light to paint by, because it shows up missed patches and uneven edges. In winter that means starting early and planning the cutting in, which needs the best light, for the middle of the day. Once it is dark, check your work with a bright lamp held close to the wall, at an angle, before you finish.
It is also the right moment to sample. Painting a sample pot onto a large card and looking at it on a dark afternoon tells you far more than a summer test ever will. Our guide to choosing colours by room orientation explains why.
Questions we are often asked
Can I store paint in the shed over winter?
Not if there is any chance of frost. Farrow & Ball say their water-based paints should be protected from frost and extreme temperatures, and Little Greene recommend a cool, dry, frost-free place away from direct sunlight.
Can I use a heater to speed things up?
Gentle, steady heat helps. Avoid pointing a heater directly at a freshly painted wall, which can dry the surface too fast and spoil the finish.
Is it fine to sleep in a freshly painted room?
All the paints we stock are low VOC, but it is still sensible to keep the room ventilated and, where possible, sleep elsewhere on the first night.
