How much Paint do you need to Buy?

It’s always difficult to estimate the amount of paint needed for a job. Experienced painters can usually tell. However, since the amount of paint varies greatly with the type of painting as well as the type of surface that is being painted, it’s best to do a little math before you go out and buy.

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Different Surfaces Absorb Different amounts of Paint

You can intuitively tell whether or not a certain surface absorbs more or less paint. For example, surfaces that are porous absorb far more paint than non porous ones. Glossy walls can take up just half the paint compared to an embossed wall.

Exterior surfaces will take up more paint that interior ones since you usually coat them more often for purposes of weatherproofing.

Also, areas like ceilings take up more paint than usual. This is because they are exposed to more heated air which makes them even more porous than usual. Factor this in before you pick paint off the shelf.

Determining the amount of paint

It’s better to overestimate the amount of paint than underestimate it. You can always keep leftover paint for while for re use. The most common way to determine the amount of paint is to first determine the paint area. You can do this by simply multiplying the height and the width of the room. If you intend to paint windows that have a lot of accoutrements like bars, then treat window space the same as wall space.

For surfaces that are not flat and are moulded like doors, increase the paint estimate by 25% or so. Once you have determined the surface area, it’s a cinch to pick up the right paint amount because paint cans have the approximate surface are that each tin will cover on their side. Since this actually depends a lot on your painting style, try out one can first to get a feel of whether you need more or less.