--- title: "How long between coats of paint? What ten makers say" description: "Ten matt emulsions say to leave 1 to 4 hours before the next coat. Which ones say what, what changes it, and how dry differs from cured." url: https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/how-long-between-coats-of-paint/ --- [Guides](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/) # How long between coats of paint? What ten makers say 4 min read · Updated 5 October 2026 The ten matt emulsions in this guide say to leave between 1 and 4 hours before the next coat. Nine of them put the top of their range at 4 hours, and Farrow & Ball says 2 hours. Those times are for normal drying conditions, so the tin’s own figure sets the time for your paint, and a colder, damper or less ventilated room is outside the figures. [Work out the paint for a room](https://buildbatch.co.uk/room-refresh/?work=paint) ![A wall painted pale blue on its left half, a roller in a tray on a dust sheet, and a stepladder by a sunlit window.](https://buildbatch.co.uk/img/guides/how-long-between-coats-of-paint.webp) ## What ten makers say The recoat figure each maker gives for its own paint, grouped by what it says. The documents, and the rest of what each says, are in [matt emulsion compared](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/matt-emulsion-what-the-tins-say/): - **4 hours:** Crown Trade Matt Vinyl, Crown Walls & Ceilings Matt Emulsion and Johnstone’s Trade Acrylic Durable Matt. - **2 to 4 hours:** Dulux Matt, Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt, Johnstone’s Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt and Valspar Premium Walls & Ceilings. - **Both 4 hours and 2 to 4 hours:** Dulux Easycare Washable & Tough Matt, on its own page: its key information says 4 hours, and its application text says 2 to 4 hours between coats. - **1 to 4 hours “at the least”:** Little Greene Intelligent Matt Emulsion. - **2 hours:** Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion, in “normal conditions”. Where a maker also gives a touch-dry time it is never longer than its recoat time, and is usually shorter: Valspar says touch dry in 1 hour, and Crown Trade and the two Johnstone’s say 1 to 2 hours. Farrow & Ball gives 2 hours for both. Touch dry is not the time to recoat unless the tin says so. ## What changes it A figure belongs to the conditions it was measured in. Crown Trade’s data sheet for Matt Vinyl gives its 4 hours “under normal drying conditions”, at 20 °C and 65% relative humidity, and says to allow for adequate ventilation. The same sheet says not to apply the paint when air or surface temperatures are likely to fall below 8 °C, or when relative humidity is above 80% during application or drying. Dulux Trade’s Vinyl Matt gives no touch-dry figure at all and says it depends on temperature and humidity. So a room outside those conditions is outside the figures. When the tin and the room disagree, the tin’s instructions decide. ## Dry is not cured The times above let you put on the next coat. They do not say the paint has finished hardening. Little Greene is the one of the ten that gives a cure time: its data sheet says full cure takes 10 to 14 days. The other nine give none that this guide could find. How soon a wall can be washed, rubbed or have furniture pushed against it is for the tin to say. ## Between a mist coat and the next coat New plaster takes a thinned first coat before the top coats. How long to leave it is the paint’s figure too: Crown Trade’s sheet says recoat after 4 hours for its Matt Vinyl, and Dulux’s page for new plaster gives no time. [Mist coat on new plaster](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/mist-coat-and-primer-for-new-plaster/) sets out both, and how much water each maker says to use. ## A first day, as an example Say the first coat is finished at 9 am. Farrow & Ball’s 2 hours lets the second coat start at 11 am. The 4 hours that most of the others reach lets it start at 1 pm. Three coats with 4 hours after each is at least 8 hours from the end of the first coat to the start of the third, plus the time the second takes to put on. These are sums on the makers’ figures, not a plan for a particular room. ## Do it with BuildBatch BuildBatch works out how much paint the coats need. It does not schedule them or time the drying. Open the [room refresh planner with paint chosen](https://buildbatch.co.uk/room-refresh/?work=paint), type the room, and enter the number of coats and the coverage from your tin. [How many coats of paint do I need?](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/how-many-coats-of-paint-do-i-need/) says when a third coat is likely. ## What this guide does not cover Gloss, satin and woodwork paints, masonry and exterior paint, primers and undercoats other than a mist coat, and anything sprayed. Only ten matt emulsions, which are not every matt emulsion sold in the UK. Drying in a particular room: only a tin’s own instructions, on the day, can say that. ## Sources The ten products’ figures were read from each maker’s page, and its data sheet where it has one, on 29 September 2026, and are printed with their documents in [matt emulsion compared](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/matt-emulsion-what-the-tins-say/). The two documents quoted in this guide were read again on 5 October 2026: - [Crown Trade Matt Vinyl technical data sheet, November 2021](https://professional.crownpaints.com//content/uploads/product-sync-resources/qLpFdovwwTGqdh8d.pdf) - [Dulux: Dr Dulux, how to paint new plaster](https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/expert-help/dr-dulux-painting-on-new-plaster) (the page prints no date) This guide was drafted with AI tools, and no tradesperson and no other person has checked it. BuildBatch sells nothing and shows no prices here. ## Related guides - [How many coats of paint do I need?](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/how-many-coats-of-paint-do-i-need/) - [Mist coat on new plaster](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/mist-coat-and-primer-for-new-plaster/) - [Matt emulsion compared](https://buildbatch.co.uk/guides/matt-emulsion-what-the-tins-say/) ## Questions **How long should I leave between coats of emulsion?** The makers of ten matt emulsions say between 1 and 4 hours. Nine put the top of their range at 4 hours, and Farrow & Ball says 2 hours. Your tin's figure is the one to use, and it is for normal conditions. **How long does a mist coat take to dry?** Crown Trade's data sheet for its Matt Vinyl says touch dry in 1 to 2 hours and recoat after 4 hours, at 20 °C and 65% relative humidity. Dulux's advice page says only to let it dry. The mist coat guide has both. **Is paint that is dry to touch ready to use?** Not necessarily. Touch dry and recoat times are for the next coat. Little Greene's data sheet gives a full cure of 10 to 14 days, and most of the other sheets give no cure time at all. **Want the sum done for you?** It works from your own measurements and product figures, and shows its working. [Work out the paint for a room](https://buildbatch.co.uk/room-refresh/?work=paint) A worked example: [How much paint for a 3 x 4 m bedroom?](https://buildbatch.co.uk/examples/painting-a-3-by-4-m-bedroom/) [All calculators](https://buildbatch.co.uk/calculators/) · [Example lists and tables by room size](https://buildbatch.co.uk/examples/) · [What it costs to have it done](https://buildbatch.co.uk/labour-costs/)