By Vince Todd, Jr., Vice President
When you shop paint brands and compare prices, calculate cost per square foot to make sure your dollars go as far as they can.
Comparing costs based solely on the price per gallon does not give you the full picture. This is because most of the volume of each gallon of paint is made up of solvent or water, which evaporates once the coating has cured. The portion of the gallon that remains once the solvent has evaporated is known as the percentage of volume solid, which is what provides the actual coating. So, the gallon with a higher percentage of volume solids will likely be a bit more expensive per gallon, but the cost per square foot should be less.
By considering the percentage of volume solids in relation to the cost per gallon, you can calculate the cost per square foot.
Let’s say your current coating is $22.28 per gallon and the percent of volume solids is 30 percent. When you break it down, one gallon of paint will cover 437.45 square feet. Therefore, the cost per square foot is $0.05. A higher quality brand costs $23.55 per gallon and the percent of volume solids is 44 percent. This breaks down to 630.14 square feet of coverage per gallon. Therefore, the cost per square foot is ACTUALLY LESS at $0.03. Those pennies add up.
To determine the actual cost per square foot, you start by finding the cost per gallon of paint solids. You can find this by dividing the price per gallon by the percent of volume solids.
For example: If a paint product costs $22.28 per gallon and contains 30 percent solids, you divide 22.28 by .3. This equals 74.27. Therefore, the cost per gallon of paint solids is $74.27.
Now that you have the cost per gallon of paint solids, you can calculate the cost per square foot. You simply multiply the cost per gallon of paint solids by the desired film thickness in millimeters, and then multiply that total by 0.0006233.
For example: ($74.27 per gallon of solids) x (1 millimeter film thickness) x (0.0006233) =4.6 cents per square foot.
Buying a coating with a higher percent of volume solids may not only cost less per square foot, it can also save you valuable time. With a higher percent of volume solids, it will take less paint to achieve your desired build. This results in a faster, more efficient production process.
At Accessa, we help clients grow their business by finding ways to improve quality, cut costs and save time. This means going a step further to ensure you have the most efficient, cost-effective coating to get the job done right.
Call me at 317-879-2055 if you’d like Accessa to price check your coatings.