When working out how much paint you need, you aim for not too much, not too little, but just right.
Here are a few tips to help you estimate the amount of paint you need to buy.
Step 1
First, calculate the overall surface area. Use a tape measure to measure the width and height of the wall and multiply these together.
Width times Height = Overall Surface area
Step 2
If there are doors and windows, they usually don’t get painted or are being painted with a different paint and their surface area needs to be subtracted from the overall surface area.
Use the same calculation to determine the surface area of the doors and window and subtract that from overall surface area to calculate the actual surface area to paint.
Width of the door times the height of the door = surface area of the door
Overall surface area minus the Surface area of the door = Actual surface to paint
Step 3
Now you have to decide how many coats you need
We recommend that you paint two coats and a little bit extra is always handy if you need to do some touch-ups.
Multiply your actual surface area with the number of coats.
If you are painting 2 coats: Actual surface area times 2 = Total Amount of square metres to paint
Step 4
The amount of square metre per litre that the paint covers will be indicated on the tin.
Divide the total number of square metres to paint by this number.
If it is 7 square metres per litre: Total amount to paint / 7 = Amount of litres to buy
Always remember a rough surface needs more paint and overcoating a dark with a light colour, it is always best to cover the dark colour with a primer first.