Why Does Acrylic Paint Dry So Fast? 

Because acrylic paint dries so fast, it’s quite popular among artists who need to produce top-notch work in a jiffy. But what makes this paint dry so quickly? 

Acrylic paint dries so fast because it is made of water-based ingredients. As soon as it comes into contact with the canvas, these ingredients will evaporate, causing the paint to dry quickly. 

Read on to learn more about what causes acrylic paint to dry quickly. 

Why Does Acrylic Paint Dry So Fast? 

Acrylic paint tends to dry faster than most other paints. The speed at which it dries, however, depends on a few different things. 

The Thickness of the Paint

More than anything else, this is the factor that affects the drying speed of paint. This may sound obvious, but I believe it’s worth delving into the process of how the thickness contributes to a paint’s drying time.

Thinner layers of paint dry faster because the water and cosolvents can evaporate faster. As they evaporate, the paint binds together and becomes sticky. After a little while, the paint loses its stickiness and forms a thin film of dry paint. 

During this time, the paint underneath the initial film is still damp. If the upper layer is too thick, the underlayer won’t dry in record time. This is because it cannot be exposed to air until the upper layer dries. The more layers air needs to travel through, the longer it will take to dry.

By the same token, paint that has been thinned will also dry faster. This is because thinned paint has more water in it, which evaporates significantly faster than some of the other ingredients in the paint. 

Theoretically, this means that if every layer on the canvas was applied once, they’ll all dry at the same rate. However, if some parts of the painting have two or more layers, you can expect those to take a little longer. 

Environmental Factors

Environmental factors are the second most important factor that affects how quickly acrylic paint dries. Specifically, the temperature, humidity, and airflow all play a role in how quickly the water and cosolvents begin their evaporation process. 

Generally, a warmer environment causes paint to evaporate more quickly. While you don’t want to place your painting in the oven, keeping it in a warm room can definitely speed up the drying process.

Be careful when playing with heat, however. Too much heat can cause your painting to dry too quickly, which can damage the painting. 

Another environmental factor is the humidity levels of the air surrounding the painting. Humidity is essentially water vapor in the air; therefore, paint left in high humidity will dry significantly slower than one left in low humidity, even if the room is warm. 

The final environmental factor is the amount of air pressure on the painting. Although greater pressure can dry a painting faster, you don’t want to push this too far. For example, if you try drying your painting with a hair dryer, you’ll be placing too much pressure on the painting, which will likely result in damage.

If you regularly paint, one thing you can do to use the environmental factors to your advantage is to have a specific drying room for your paintings to rest in. The room should be warm —  between 80 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (27-29 degrees Celsius). 

You should also place a dehumidifier in the room to help reduce the humidity and a fan to circulate the air around the room. Just make sure the fan isn’t high-powered. 

One decent brand of dehumidifier is the TABYIK 35 oz (1035 ml) Dehumidifier (available on Amazon.com). Aside from its ability to stabilize the humidity in your workspace, it’s quiet enough to allow you to meditate as you reflect on your next major project.

Last update on 2024-04-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

You can also plant one Treva 10-inch Rechargeable Portable Fan (available on Amazon.com) in front of your painting. It’s energy-efficient, as you can get power from various sources, including USB, rechargeable batteries, and an AC adapter.

Last update on 2024-04-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

The Painting Surface

The final factor that affects how quickly acrylic paint dries is the surface it’s painted on. Acrylic paint on canvas dries at a different speed than wood, and so on. 

In general, canvas paintings dry the quickest — at least when it comes to acrylic paints. That’s because canvas facilitates better airflow, which (as discussed earlier) is crucial to a paint’s drying speed. Canvas paintings will often dry within an hour if the paint isn’t too thick. This time frame can be cut in half under the right conditions.

You can also paint on plastic. However, acrylics don’t stick as well to plastic as they do to canvas, so they can take longer to dry fully. You can make adjustments to help your paint stick better to plastic and appear smoother. If you’d like to learn more, check out this article on painting acrylic on plastic “How To Make Your Acrylic Paint Smooth on Plastic”.

Finally, wood surfaces take significantly longer to dry than plastic or canvas. The wood doesn’t allow for good airflow, for starters. While the initial dry film will form on a wood surface within an hour, the painting won’t be fully ready until nearly a day after. Instead, the paint will remain soft in the underlayers. 

Does Acrylic Paint Always Dry Quickly?

Acrylic paints nearly always dry quickly because they are built to evaporate off nearly any surface. There may be times, however, when the paint does not dry as quickly.

Usually, when acrylic paint dries slowly, it’s because it’s been applied too thickly or because it hasn’t been exposed to the right conditions that enhance its drying power. In most cases, however, this paint tends to dry quicker than others. 

For best results, keep your painting warm and in a well-ventilated area.

Final Words

One of the best qualities of acrylic paint (or worst, depending on who you ask) is its ability to dry in record time. How quickly it dries depends on a number of factors — most of which are under your control. However, if you want an option to make acrylics remain wet for a bit longer, we invite you to watch the video below.