How Long does Durham’s take to Dry

When using Durham’s Water Putty on repairs – it is crucial to make sure that your repair patch has dried thoroughly prior to painting or sealing over the top.  

We usually suggest that you wait overnight for wood putty to dry, to be ‘better safe than sorry’. Often, small repair areas are totally dry within hours. The hardening process does start fairly quickly with most water putty applications. 

Depending on the amount of water added drying times can vary. Temperature and humidity levels also play a part in the curing of Durham’s. If you have a large repair area, it is helpful to apply wood putty in quarter-inch amounts and let each layer dry before applying another. This will assist in assuring that wood putty is dry all the way to the bottom on the patch. 

Durham’s Putty Lightens in Color

Water Putty will lighten in color as moisture works out of your repair. There are times that you may have some darker colors in your Durham’s if the putty didn’t get mixed thoroughly or perhaps some of the coloring material clumped together while mixing. 

To determine if your putty is dry –  try the sandpaper test by lightly sanding your repair.  If it is dusty, similar to wood dust – then your repair is dry. However, if it feels sticky when you sand the wood putty or if the putty balls up on your sandpaper, you will need to give the wood putty patch more time to dry. 

Many times moisture will be trapped in the middle or towards the bottom of a deep repair. Be patient – moisture will eventually work its way out and you will have a Rock Hard repair!

I thought my putty was dry – but the paint is peeling

Most likely, your repair area wasn’t completely dry. Uncover your repair, let it dry longer, and try the sandpaper test previously mentioned. If you are having trouble with paint sticking to your repair, it is likely that you have an issue with moisture.

Your repair patch is either not completely dried, or your area is getting damp from absorbing moisture. When used for exterior purposes, we do not suggest using it on deck flooring or fence repairs.  

After a repair is dried, you need to seal the entire surface. Often times that means sealing the front, bottom, and ends of boards which can be difficult in deck flooring or fence repairs. 

If you repaired a deep void in one application, it could take many days for your putty to dry completely. If you cannot determine why your paint is still peeling and have ruled out moisture issues, sometimes a patch can be sealed using a thin coating of clear glue (interior/exterior), shellac, a clear epoxy filler, or an exterior polyurethane and then painting over that.