Reference
Paint Coverage Rates by Product and Surface
The coverage figures every calculator on this site starts from, by product and by surface, with the data sheets they come from and the factors for texture and porosity.
How to use the table
Coverage is the area one gallon (or one litre) covers in one coat on a surface that is ready to paint. The figure printed on a can is measured on a smooth, sealed surface at the recommended film thickness, and it is usually the top of a range. Real walls are rougher and more absorbent, so the figures below are the ones our calculators use by default, chosen from the data sheets and, where it matters, at the low end of what they print.
The conversion factor 40.746 is exact arithmetic: one m² per litre is 10.7639 sq ft per 0.264172 gallons. Coverage on a UK data sheet in square metres per litre converts the same way; a “UK gallon” figure does not, because a UK gallon is about 20% larger than a US gallon.
Interior paints and primers
| Product | Our default (sq ft/gal) | Our default (m²/L) | Note | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interior wall paint | 350 | 8.6 | Labels print 350–400 | Wall, accent, two-tone, striped, stairwell, whole-house |
| Ceiling paint (flat) | 400 on a smooth ceiling | 9.8 | Texture factor applied separately | Ceiling, whole-house |
| Trim and door enamel | 400 | 9.8 | Labels print 350–400 | Trim, door, window trim |
| Cabinet enamel | 350 | 8.6 | Labels print 350–400 | Cabinet |
| Furniture enamel | 400 | 9.8 | Furniture | |
| Chalk-style paint | 600 | 14.7 | Labels quote about 150 per quart | Furniture |
| PVA drywall primer, new drywall | 300 | 7.4 | New paper and mud absorb the first coat | Primer |
| Multi-purpose primer, patched walls | 350 | 8.6 | Primer | |
| Multi-purpose primer, painted walls | 400 | 9.8 | Primer | |
| High-hide primer, dark to light | 300 | 7.4 | Tinted toward the new colour | Primer, accent wall |
| Bonding primer, glossy surfaces | 350 | 8.6 | Primer | |
| Stain-blocking primer | 300 | 7.4 | Shellac or oil for heavy stains | Primer |
Deep-base and saturated colours often quote the low end of the wall-paint range, because they carry less white pigment and the coverage is limited by hiding, not by spreading. The accent wall calculator adds coats for them rather than lowering the coverage.
Exterior paints and coatings
| Product and surface | Our default (sq ft/gal) | Our default (m²/L) | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior latex, smooth siding | 350, then the siding factor | 8.6 | Exterior house, shed, garage door, exterior trim |
| Acrylic masonry paint, smooth stucco | 250 | 6.1 | Stucco and masonry |
| Acrylic masonry paint, medium texture | 200 | 4.9 | Stucco and masonry |
| Acrylic masonry paint, heavy texture | 150 | 3.7 | Stucco and masonry |
| Elastomeric, smooth / medium / heavy | 100 / 80 / 65 | 2.5 / 2.0 / 1.6 | Stucco and masonry |
| Masonry primer | 200 | 4.9 | Stucco and masonry |
| Block filler, smooth block | 100 | 2.5 | Block filler |
| Block filler, split-face block | 70 | 1.7 | Block filler |
| Metal enamel, brushed | 350 | 8.6 | Metal railing |
| Porch and floor enamel | 400 | 9.8 | Porch floor |
| Anti-slip floor paint | 300 | 7.4 | Porch floor |
| One-part epoxy floor paint | 300 | 7.4 | Concrete floor |
| Acrylic floor paint on concrete | 350 | 8.6 | Concrete floor |
| Epoxy clear topcoat | 300 | 7.4 | Epoxy kit |
Elastomeric coatings are meant to go on thick, at 15 to 20 wet mils a coat, so that they bridge hairline cracks. Spreading them to the coverage of ordinary paint defeats the product. Roof coatings are specified the other way round, in gallons per 100 square feet: elastomeric acrylic about 1.25 per coat, silicone about 1.5 and fibered aluminium about 1.0, which the roof coating calculator uses directly.
Stains, sealers and clear finishes
| Product and surface | Our default (sq ft/gal) | Our default (m²/L) | Coats | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deck stain, new or smooth wood | 300 | 7.4 | Per product | Deck stain |
| Deck stain, weathered wood | 175 | 4.3 | Per product | Deck stain |
| Deck stain, rough or very dry wood | 150 | 3.7 | Per product | Deck stain |
| Fence, clear or transparent sealer | 250 | 6.1 | 1 | Fence stain |
| Fence, semi-transparent stain | 200 | 4.9 | 1 | Fence stain |
| Fence, solid-colour stain | 175 | 4.3 | 2 | Fence stain |
| Fence, exterior paint on rough boards | 300 | 7.4 | 2 | Fence stain |
| Interior wiping stain, closed-grain hardwood | 450 | 11.0 | Per piece | Wood stain |
| Interior wiping stain, open-grain hardwood | 400 | 9.8 | Per piece | Wood stain |
| Interior wiping stain, softwood | 350 | 8.6 | Per piece | Wood stain |
| Oil-based polyurethane, floors | 500 | 12.3 | 3 | Hardwood floor finish |
| Water-based polyurethane, floors | 450 | 11.0 | 4 | Hardwood floor finish |
| Hardwax oil, floors | 300 | 7.4 | 2 | Hardwood floor finish |
| Penetrating masonry sealer, dense / medium / porous | 200 / 150 / 100 | 4.9 / 3.7 / 2.5 | 1 | Masonry sealer |
| Film-forming acrylic sealer, dense / medium / porous | 300 / 250 / 175 | 7.4 / 6.1 / 4.3 | 2 | Masonry sealer |
| Concrete sealer, clear | 250 | 6.1 | 2 | Concrete floor |
Penetrating products are limited by how much the surface absorbs rather than by film thickness, which is why the same stain covers twice as much on new decking as on dry, weathered boards. The deck stain coverage guide explains the difference.
Surface factors
A surface factor multiplies the label coverage to give the real coverage. A factor of 0.7 means the gallon covers 70% of what the can says.
| Surface | Factor | Real coverage of a 350 sq ft/gal paint | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth, sealed (painted drywall, smooth trim) | 1.00 | 350 | All |
| Light texture (orange peel, knockdown) | 0.85 | about 298 | Paint coverage |
| Rough (rough-sawn wood, heavy texture) | 0.70 | 245 | Paint coverage |
| Ceiling, light texture | 0.80 on 400 | 320 | Ceiling |
| Ceiling, heavy texture or popcorn | 0.60 on 400 | 240 | Ceiling |
Exterior siding is handled as an area factor instead, because the extra surface of lap and shingle siding is real area rather than lost paint: smooth 1.0, lap or clapboard 1.1, rough-sawn 1.3, stucco 1.4 and brick 1.5, applied to the measured wall area in the exterior house paint calculator. The siding types guide explains why.
Worked lookups
- A 302 sq ft room at 350 sq ft per gallon: 302 ÷ 350 = 0.86 gallons a coat.
- The same paint on a light-textured wall: 350 × 0.85 = about 298 sq ft per gallon.
- A popcorn ceiling with a 400 sq ft/gal ceiling paint: 400 × 0.6 = 240 sq ft per gallon.
- Wall paint in metric: 350 ÷ 40.746 = 8.6 m² per litre.
Sources and notes
The label ranges come from the published technical data sheets of the major US manufacturers for each product class: Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr and PPG for wall, ceiling, trim and exterior paints; Kilz and Zinsser for primers; Behr, Sherwin-Williams Loxon and PPG Speedhide for masonry paints, elastomerics and block fillers; Behr, Cabot, Olympic and Thompson’s for deck stains and sealers; Rust-Oleum and Behr for floor coatings; Minwax, Varathane and Bona for interior stains and floor finishes. The defaults are rounded and deliberately sit at the conservative end, because the most common estimating error is running out. Surface factors are site estimates based on how far the data sheets’ rough-surface ranges sit below their smooth-surface figures.
Always check your own can: the data sheet for the exact product is the authority, and our calculators let you type its figure in.
Calculators that use this table
- Interior: the wall paint, ceiling paint, trim paint, primer and whole-house calculators.
- Exterior: the exterior house paint, stucco and masonry, deck stain, fence stain and porch floor calculators.
- Coverage and conversions: the paint coverage calculator, which applies the surface factors, and the spread rate and film thickness calculator, which derives coverage from volume solids.
- Surfaces: the concrete floor paint, masonry sealer, block filler, wood stain and floor finish calculators.
The guide paint coverage explained shows why the label figure rarely survives a real wall.