When Can I Walk On My Freshly Painted Deck?

A fresh coat of painting or staining on your deck is always recommended every 18 months to 2 years in San Diego. Decks take a lot of beating from our hot sunny weather. You can sometimes go longer than that, but to keep it looking it's best, at least ever two years is best. Then the question is, when can you walk on a freshly painted deck? This will depend on the temperature when the paint or stain was applied and the temperature after the product begins to dry. In most cases a full body stain or aryllic deck finish will be dry to touch within an hour in dry, hot weather. After two hours you could take a chance and walk on it with shoes, though I'd recommend barefoot. After about 4 hours you should be able to safely walk on your deck.

I would not recommend putting furniture or plants back on your deck for several days. Acrylic paints and stains take a solid week of really dry weather to cure, sometimes even longer. If the objects are light, a few days after is just fine. If you have heavy plants or a sunbrella with a heavy base, I'd wait a good week. Also, be careful putting potting plants directly on your deck. They tend to cause dry rot because the water can't escape when you water your plants. You can buy pot risers that help the water escape properly.