How Many Square Feet Will a Gallon of Paint Cover?

Nobody likes throw­ing per­fect­ly good paint away, espe­cial­ly when you paid for it! And yet, home­own­ers and DIY enthu­si­asts alike know the all-too-famil­iar (and sad) feel­ing of watch­ing their col­or­ful, liq­uid left-overs dry up in a can only to be hand­ed off to the garbage. So, the age old ques­tion remains: ​“How much paint do I need?” 

In this arti­cle we are tak­ing an in-depth look at how far a gal­lon of paint will take you, so that you can avoid not only the pain of throw­ing paint away but also the frus­tra­tion of an extra trip to the store!

What’s the Stan­dard Cov­er­age for a Gal­lon of Paint? 

Let’s start with the basics. On aver­age (key word: aver­age), a stan­dard gal­lon of paint typ­i­cal­ly cov­ers between 350 to 400 square feet of sur­face area. 

So, let’s say you have a room that is 10 feet by 12 feet with 8‑foot ceil­ings, and you need two coats of paint:

• Total wall area: (10 + 12) x 2 x 8 = 352 square feet

• Total square footage for two coats: 352 x 2 = 704 square feet

• Gal­lons of paint need­ed: ⁷⁰⁴⁄₄₀₀ = 1.76 gal­lons (round up to 2 gal­lons for safety)

But here’s the thing: if you’ve done a few paint­ing projects in your life, then you may already know this is not always accu­rate. Are we say­ing that paint man­u­fac­tur­ers are lying? No. Like we said, this is the ​“typ­i­cal” cov­er­age under ide­al con­di­tions. But there are many fac­tors that can affect paint coverage.

How Paint Fin­ish Affects Coverage 

Let’s start with the fin­ish. The fin­ish of the paint refers to how glossy or mut­ed the paint appears after it dries. It may sur­prise you but a paint’s fin­ish actu­al­ly affects how many coats are need­ed to get that smooth, even sur­face you’re look­ing for. Here’s how: 

• Flat and Mat­te Fin­ish­es: Flat and mat­te fin­ish­es are less reflec­tive, which means they mask sur­face flaws bet­ter. Because of this you gen­er­al­ly need few­er coats to achieve com­plete coverage. 
• Eggshell and Satin Fin­ish­es: Eggshell and satin fin­ish­es fall in the mid­dle of the cov­er­age spec­trum. While their slight sheen pro­vides a more durable and wash­able sur­face, they don’t cov­er imper­fec­tions as well – so you may need more coats. But over all these fin­ish­es pro­vide a unique bal­ance between cov­er­age and dura­bil­i­ty; just keep in mind that they tend to be on the pricey side. 
• Semi-Gloss and High-Gloss Fin­ish­es: And final­ly, Semi-gloss and high-gloss fin­ish­es. These have the high­est sheen lev­els but that means they are also the most like­ly to high­light imper­fec­tions. Durable and easy to clean for sure but when it comes to cov­er­age these fin­ish­es will almost always require more coats. 

Col­or and Coverage 

Here is one that may sur­prise you: col­or will also affect how much paint you will need. Lighter col­ors just don’t cov­er as well as dark­er col­ors, espe­cial­ly if you’re paint­ing over a dark sur­face. And this is no small dif­fer­ence. We’re talk­ing about pos­si­bly need­ing almost twice as much paint in some cas­es! If you are paint­ing with a light col­or, plan to add on at least one extra coat. If your sur­face is already dark, you may even need more than that.

Does Paint Qual­i­ty Affect Cov­er­age Too? 

Yes! They may look the same on the out­side, but not all paints are cre­at­ed equal. 

Pre­mi­um vs. Econ­o­my Brands: Pre­mi­um paint brands are for­mu­lat­ed with high­er-qual­i­ty ingre­di­ents, offer­ing bet­ter cov­er­age com­pared to econ­o­my brands. Oth­er fac­tors that make pre­mi­um more effi­cient include: 

• Bet­ter adhesion 

• Reduced splat­ter

• Improved dura­bil­i­ty

Don’t let the upfront cost throw you off; pre­mi­um paint cov­ers much bet­ter than cheap­er alter­na­tives and there­fore will require less mate­r­i­al and time. So it could even out in the end. 

Paint Ingre­di­ents and Tech­nol­o­gy: Advance­ments in paint ingre­di­ents and tech­nol­o­gy have sig­nif­i­cant­ly improved cov­er­age across dif­fer­ent prod­uct lines as well, even with­in the same brand. High-qual­i­ty paints often incor­po­rate advanced resins, binders, and pig­ments that help cov­er­age and dura­bil­i­ty. For exam­ple, paints with high­er tita­ni­um diox­ide con­tent pro­vide bet­ter opac­i­ty, allow­ing for bet­ter hide and few­er coats. Bet­ter dura­bil­i­ty also means you won’t have to repaint as quick­ly as you might with low­er qual­i­ty paints; which is anoth­er poten­tial long term money-saver. 

Tips for Max­i­miz­ing Paint Coverage

Before we wrap up, there is one more impor­tant thing you should know: how to get the most out of your gal­lon. After all, who does­n’t like get­ting the biggest bang out of their buck? 

• Sur­face Prepa­ra­tion: Prop­er­ly clean, prime, and repair sur­faces before paint­ing. This helps the paint adhere bet­ter and spread more evenly.
• Qual­i­ty Tools: It will also help to invest in good-qual­i­ty brush­es, rollers, and sprayers (depend­ing on your project). High-qual­i­ty tools ensure a smoother appli­ca­tion and bet­ter coverage.
• Appli­ca­tion Tech­niques: And final­ly, make sure to use even strokes and avoid over­load­ing the brush or roller. Apply paint in thin, con­sis­tent coats. 

What’s the Takeaway? 

Well, as you can see, the top­ic of paint cov­er­age is a bit more com­pli­cat­ed than most peo­ple assume. But if you under­stand the fac­tors involved, there is no need for guess work! 

Look­ing for a Seat­tle Paint­ing Com­pa­ny? Call Us at All Cov­ered Painting!

At All Cov­ered Paint­ing, we make sure every gal­lon gets the best cov­er­age for the best results. Con­tact us today to learn more about our ser­vices and how we can assist with your next paint­ing project.