Pick your paint, the primer and how many coats. You get when each coat can go on, when the wall is dry to the touch and when you can wash it, from the paint maker's own data sheet, as a plan from the first coat.
Your paint's times
Recoat after 1–4 hours, dry to the touch in 1 hour2 coats from 9:00 AM: dry to the touch by 4:00 PM · washable after 2–4 weeks
Your room, your start time, your pace
The makers measure their times at 77 °F and 50% humidity.
Quick answer: a latex (water-based) wall paint is dry to the touch in about 1 hour and ready for its second coat after 1 to 4 hours, depending on the brand: Benjamin Moore Aura 1 hour, Regal Select 1–2, Behr Premium Plus 2, Sherwin-Williams Emerald 4. Oil-based and alkyd paints take far longer: 12 to 16 hours between coats. Those times are the makers’ own (Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams measure them at 77 °F and 50% humidity); cooler or damper air makes them longer. Washing waits 2 to 4 weeks.
How to use the paint dry time calculator
- Pick your paint. Not on the list, or not sure? “Any latex wall paint” gives the range of the latex paints here.
- Primer first? Water-based or oil-based: the primer’s own wait comes first.
- How many coats you are planning: 1, 2 or 3.
- Open “Your room, your start time, your pace” under the answer: the room’s temperature and humidity (the makers’ times are for 77 °F and 50%; it says when yours will be slower, or too cold to paint at all), when the first coat goes on and how long a coat takes you. You get your day as a plan, with clock times. Copy link keeps it.
Dry and recoat times, from the makers’ data sheets
Every paint maker prints these on the product’s data sheet or label. Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams measure them at 77 °F (25 °C) and 50% relative humidity; Behr’s label does not say.
| Paint | Dry to the touch | Next coat after | Washable / in use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Moore Aura | 1 hour | 1 hour | after 2 weeks |
| Benjamin Moore Regal Select | 1 hour | 1–2 hours | after 2 weeks |
| Benjamin Moore ben | 1 hour | 2 hours | after 2 weeks |
| Behr Premium Plus Interior | 1 hour | 2 hours | after 4 weeks |
| Sherwin-Williams Emerald Interior | 1 hour | 4 hours | not stated |
| Benjamin Moore ADVANCE (waterborne alkyd) | 4–6 hours | 16 hours | in use after 5–7 days |
| Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo (oil-based) | 4 hours | 12 hours | after 2 weeks |
| Benjamin Moore Fresh Start primer (water-based) | 30 minutes | 1 hour | — |
| Benjamin Moore Fresh Start primer (oil-based) | 6 hours | 8 hours | — |
Dry to the touch comes first; the next coat waits for the recoat time, which is the same or longer. “Washable” is when the maker says you can scrub it: Benjamin Moore says “Painted surfaces can be washed after two weeks”, Behr “After 4 weeks, cured paint film may be cleaned with a mild, non-abrasive liquid detergent”.
Why your room may take longer
Every one of these sheets says it. Benjamin Moore: “High humidity and cool temperatures will result in longer dry, recoat and service times.” Sherwin-Williams: “Drying and recoat times are temperature, humidity, and film thickness dependent.” Behr: “Cooler temperatures or higher humidity may prolong drying time,” and “Darker colors may require additional dry time between coats.” None says by how much, so the calculator does not guess: when your room is cooler than 77 °F or damper than 50%, it tells you to expect longer and to test a hidden spot first.
Below the can’s minimum, don’t paint at all: 50 °F for every paint here (Benjamin Moore’s water-based Fresh Start primer goes down to 40 °F).
Four worked examples
New drywall, primed, two coats of Regal Select. Recoat after 1–2 hours, dry to the touch in 1 hour: primer at 9:00, paint at 11:00, the second coat at 2:00 PM, dry to the touch by 4:00 PM. Washable after 2 weeks.
Two coats of Emerald, no primer. Recoat after 4 hours, dry to the touch in 1 hour: the first coat 9:00–10:00, the second at 2:00 PM, dry by 4:00 PM.
Kitchen cabinets in ADVANCE. Recoat after 16 hours, dry to the touch in 4–6 hours: the second coat goes on the next morning, and the doors stay off shelves and out of heavy use for 5–7 days.
One evening touch-up coat of Behr. Recoat after 2 hours, dry to the touch in 1 hour: rolled at 6:00 PM, dry to the touch by 8:00 PM; washable after 4 weeks.
Common mistakes
- Recoating when it feels dry. Dry to the touch comes first; the recoat time can be much later (4 hours for Emerald, 16 for ADVANCE).
- Painting a cold room. Under 50 °F every can here says not to apply it. A room at 60 °F is above that minimum, but slower than the can’s times.
- Using a latex paint’s times for an oil one. Oil-based enamels and primers wait 8 to 16 hours between coats, and Satin Impervo asks for a light sanding between them.
- Scrubbing too soon. Wipe gently for the first weeks; scrub only after the 2–4 weeks the makers give.
- Putting shelves back on fresh trim paint. ADVANCE: “Do not expose to heavy abrasion or return shelves/tabletops to service for at least 5 – 7 days”.
Paint drying: questions people ask
How long does paint take to dry?
A latex wall paint is dry to the touch in about an hour (Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams print 1 hour at 77 °F and 50% humidity, Behr 1 hour). Oil-based and alkyd paints take 4 to 6 hours. Washable takes 2 to 4 weeks, by the makers’ sheets.
How long to wait between coats of paint?
1 to 4 hours for a latex wall paint, by brand: Aura 1 hour, Regal Select 1–2, ben and Behr Premium Plus 2, Emerald 4. 12 hours for Satin Impervo (oil-based), 16 for ADVANCE. Longer in a cool or humid room.
How long does primer take to dry?
Benjamin Moore’s water-based Fresh Start primer is dry to the touch in 30 minutes and ready for paint in 1 hour; its oil-based Fresh Start primer in 6 and 8 hours.
How long does it take to paint a room?
Your rolling time plus the waits: two coats of a latex paint with a 1-hour coat each take about 7 hours from the first roll to dry to the touch when the paint asks for a 4-hour recoat, 4 hours with a 1-hour recoat. The calculator lays out your day.
How long does paint take to cure?
The makers give it as when you can wash it: two weeks for Benjamin Moore’s paints, four for Behr Premium Plus. Benjamin Moore ADVANCE can go back in use after 5–7 days, while its full hardness takes longer.
How long does oil-based paint take to dry?
Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo: dry to the touch in 4 hours, recoat after 12, with an overnight dry and a light sanding between coats; its final finish comes in five to seven days.
Read next
- Can you use the same paint for walls and ceilings?
- How to paint wood paneling
- Painted kitchen island ideas
- Bold ceiling paint ideas
How much paint will the room take? The free paint calculator counts the gallons for your walls, and the free 2D planner lays out the room before you move the furniture back.
Sources, read October 15, 2026: the technical data sheets of Benjamin Moore Regal Select (N548), Aura (N522), ben (N626), ADVANCE (792), Satin Impervo (C235) and Fresh Start primers 046 and 024; Sherwin-Williams’ product data sheet for Emerald Interior Acrylic Latex, Satin K37 (11/2023); the label of Behr Premium Plus Interior Semi-Gloss Enamel (REV. 04/16, as Home Depot hosts it). Paints are reformulated: this page is re-checked every six months.