Flex seal takes around 24 hours to dry between coats and around 48 hours to cure (dry fully). The exact dry and cure time depends on the Flex seal type, ambient temperature, and humidity levels.
If you re-coat Flex seal too soon, the finish remains wet longer, turns stick or tacky, and can peel off.
To speed up Flex seal drying time, increase the evaporation rate and get proper drying conditions.
How Long Does Flex Seal Take To Dry Between Coats?
Flex seal takes around 24 hours to dry between coats. The exact dry time depends on the flex seal type and ambient temperature and humidity levels.
Flex seal dries through solvent evaporation — the solvent evaporates from the surface and the coating becomes hard (or rigid).
If you re-coat it too soon, the finish remains wet for longer, turns sticky or tacky, and can peel off. To know if the sealer is dry enough for a re-coat, inspect its finish. The sealer is dry and you can re-coat it if the finish feels hard (rigid) and dry.
Flex seal is made by a combination of rubber and solvent. Once this sealer is applied, it penetrates the surface cracks and holes and creates a barrier over them. Its solvent turns Flex seal into liquid so it can seep through the smallest cracks and seal them.
How Long Does Flex Seal Take to Cure?
Flex seal takes around 48 hours to cure (fully dry). Once the sealer cures, it reaches its maximum durability, strength, and adhesion, and you can clean and expose it to constant water.
If you expose a Flex seal coating to water or moisture before it cures, you can ruin the finish or delay its cure time.
What Happens if You Re-coat Flex Seal Too Soon?
If you re-coat Flex seal too soon, the finish remains wet longer, turns sticky or tacky, and can peel off. This is because the existing coat solvent will get trapped between two coats and can’t evaporate. The solvent that can’t evaporate will prevent the new coating from adhering or drying properly, creating a sticky finish.
If the sealer remains wet for too long, it can get contaminated or peel off due to poor adhesion. Some sticky sealer finishes can be fixed by increasing the evaporation rate, while some other finishes can’t be fixed.
You must always wait until one coat dries properly before applying the next one.
How To Speed Up Flex Seal Drying Time?
To speed up flex seal drying time, do the following things.
- Increase the Evaporation Rate.
- Get Proper Drying Conditions.
1. Increase the Evaporation Rate
Since Flex seal dries through solvent evaporation, increasing the evaporation rate makes the sealer dry faster.
To increase the evaporation rate, do the following things.
- Use a hairdryer at a medium temperature.
- Move the hairdryer over the sealer finish for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the sealer.
- Repeat the steps every two hours.
2. Get Proper Drying Conditions
Flex seal dries and cures faster if the ambient temperature is higher than 50°F (10°C), humidity levels lower than 50%, and there’s proper air circulation around the coating.
You can increase the room temperature with a heater, decrease the humidity levels with a dehumidifier, and increase the air circulation by opening all windows and doors.
