Can car paint be done on rainy days?

[DeDylan]

Car paint can be done on rainy days, but the effect won't be as good as on sunny days. After all, paint adhesion is poorer on overcast or rainy days, making it prone to peeling. Additionally, whether the 4S shop strictly follows the standard operating procedures is also crucial. Relevant information is as follows: 1. Painting: Generally, after the paint is applied, as long as the standard process is followed, the surface can be touched after 2 hours, and the hardness of the paint can reach 80% after 24 hours. You can drive the car after 24 hours, but it is recommended not to wash the car for 2 to 3 days, as this depends on the actual situation of the paint quality and techniques. 2. Precautions: If the car has just been painted, be careful not to let the newly painted areas come into contact with water or dust. It's best not to drive it out on rainy days because the fresh paint is still delicate and may leave marks when exposed to rain, which can be unsightly and sometimes cannot be removed even by polishing. It's best to park the car in a garage at night.

[VanVincent]

A few days ago, my car got scratched, and I chose a rainy day to get it repainted—big mistake! Within two weeks, bubbles and cracks appeared on the paint. The mechanic explained that the high humidity on rainy days makes it harder for the paint to dry thoroughly, allowing moisture to seep into the paint layers and weaken adhesion to the metal surface. Now, I always wait for sunny days with low humidity to do paintwork, and the gloss retention has been excellent. Plus, the drying time is halved—it hardens in just half a day, unlike rainy days when it takes a full day and attracts dust. If I’m in a rush and have no choice, I’ll look for a shop with a professional dehumidifying paint booth, but the results still don’t compare to sunny-day painting.

[OSkylar]

Our workshop is reluctant to paint on rainy days. When the air humidity exceeds 80%, moisture cannot be completely removed in the baking room, which can cause the paint layer to turn white, and in severe cases, fish-eye patterns may appear. We have to manually adjust the dilution ratio and add slow-drying agents, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Ordinary shops also dare not set the drying temperature too high for fear of cracking the primer. Even if the paint looks fine at the time, the repair rate is high, and complaints about peeling and bubbling are particularly common three weeks later. The safest approach is to check the weather forecast and choose three or four consecutive dry days for painting, ensuring thorough curing of the paint surface.

[EverlyFitz]

Painting a car in rainy weather carries significant risks. High humidity can create a barrier between the primer and topcoat, reducing adhesion. This effect is more pronounced with metallic paints, as uneven particle distribution affects the reflective quality. Additionally, if freshly applied paint gets rained on, water spots may become permanently embedded on the surface. Even in a paint booth, the momentary influx of moisture when opening the door can cause issues. If painting must be done, applying two coats of clear coat can reinforce the moisture barrier, though this increases costs by nearly 30% compared to sunny conditions. Waiting a few days for drier weather proves most cost-effective.

[DiJohn]

Car enthusiasts know that car paint is most afraid of moisture penetration. When painting on rainy days, solvents evaporate slowly, leaving residual bubbles in the paint film. After a year of prolonged sun exposure, the paint surface will develop tiny pockmarks like insect holes. Poorly treated metal parts can also rust and spread. My neighbor took a shortcut by repainting in the rain, and the next year, the oxidation rate of the entire car was noticeably faster than other vehicles of the same age. Now, I always choose the dry seasons of autumn and winter for painting—the paint thickness is even and wear-resistant, lasting five years without needing a repolish.

[ChloeLynn]

Don't assume that keeping the car in the workshop can completely block out moisture. On rainy days, changes in atmospheric pressure can affect the atomization effect of the spray gun, leading to poor paint smoothness. If it's during the humid season, condensation can form on the floor of the paint booth, and even the workers' damp clothes can impact the painting environment. A repair shop near my home has statistics showing that the rework rate for painting on rainy days is four times higher than on sunny days, and the probability of the color turning gray increases by 50%. To save a few hundred bucks by painting ahead of schedule, only to spend over two thousand more on redoing it later, is simply not worth the risk.