Catalyst drying procedures are often given little attention in the experimental section of papers on supported metal catalysts. In general, drying appears to be regarded as a method to remove water and other volatile components prior to calcining or reduction, but not as a method to affect the surface properties of the catalyst. This study uses x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to examine the surface properties of silica supported cobalt catalysts, prepared using incipient wetness impregnation of cobalt nitrate hexahydrate, and finds a wide range of cobalt distributions, extent of nitrate decomposition, and reducibility for various drying procedures. After UHV annealing and subsequent reduction, the final cobalt surface properties are found to depend on the length of heating and the environment during the drying process. Maximum cobalt metal surface area is obtained for samples exposed to limited amounts of air and dried under conditions where gas phase species generated during the precursor decomposition are rapidly removed from the surface of the sample.