How long does an acrylic paint dry? What is the consumption of material per unit area?

How long does an acrylic paint dry? Such a statement of the question is not very correct. To find the answer, it is first of all necessary to find out what the material is, what conditions are required for its fastest solidification. Further, comprehensive information will be provided, which will allow to find out how much the acrylic paint dries.

Principle of curing acrylic paint

In the composition of acrylic paint there is a hardener that activates a specific chemical polymerization reaction when applying a layer of material on the surface. The main catalyst for triggering the reaction is the ambient temperature. The higher it is, the less time it takes to harden the paint.

When using acrylic paint to perform both external and internal works, under natural conditions, it is possible to achieve heating of the surfaces up to a maximum of 25 ° C. Such indicators absolutely do not contribute to instant drying of the material. The best conditions for the rapid drying of acrylic paint are created only when processing surfaces in specialized spray booths.

Factors that affect the drying speed of acrylic paint

How much the acrylic paint dries depends not only on the temperature. Among other factors, it is worth noting the quality of ventilation of the room in which the work is being done. The thickness of the applied layer also influences the rate of solidification of the material. If the substance is as thin as possible and covers an ideally flat surface, the drying may take about half an hour. However, a thick or repeated coat of paint will harden much longer.

How to shorten the hardening period?

If absolutely necessary, the drying time of the acrylic material can be reduced by adding latex to the composition. This substance greatly improves the already excellent water-repellent qualities of the paint of the type presented. When the mixture is exposed to a warm air flow for a complete hardening of the thin layer, it can take only a few minutes, whereas in the case of applying acrylic paint at room temperature, the drying time of the surface will be up to two hours. At the same time, the final hardening of the formation will occur in about 24 hours.

Today, the market has a wide variety of acrylic paints. Each type of material has differences in the rate of solidification. Therefore, in order to find out how much acrylic paint dries, before buying it, you should carefully read the information on the manufacturer's label and compare the figures presented with the conditions in which the work will be done.

Consumption

What is the consumption of acrylic paint per m2? On average per unit area requires about 200-250 grams of matter. To make the consumption of material as economical as possible, you need to use a quality roller for painting the walls. From the selection of the tool will also depend on the texture that will manifest on the surfaces. In particular, for the treatment of smooth wallpaper, it is better to choose a roller for painting walls with an average length of pile. To make the material costs minimal, processing the texture plane, it is recommended to use a tool with a long pile, which will allow to achieve an even distribution of the substance.

In general, trying to determine the expense of acrylic paint, do not blindly trust the indicators indicated on the label. The latter are valid only in the case of the treatment of ideally smooth surfaces. For example, if the manufacturer specifies a material consumption of 8 m ² per liter, in reality the banks will be sufficient only for 6-7 m ^{2 of the} area. Proceeding from this, acrylic paint is recommended to be purchased with some margin, somewhere 5% more than required according to preliminary calculations. If the material is used for priming surfaces, its volume can be slightly increased by adding a small amount of water to the composition.

Performance of acrylic paint

Acrylic paints have excellent characteristics. They belong to the category of quick-drying materials. At the same time, they can be applied both on concrete surfaces, and on metal and plaster.

Acrylic materials have a low gas permeability and an effective water repellent ability. On this basis, they serve as a reliable protection for surfaces from the development of corrosion processes.

The colors of the presented character are distinguished by a huge range of bright, saturated hues that do not change their original appearance under the influence of sunlight.

Due to increased resistance to adverse environmental factors, acrylic paints are equally effective for performing indoor and outdoor work. They have frost resistance, they do not light up when the temperature rises sharply. In general, you can use acrylics for any surface treatment, from interior to artist's canvas.