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Computing Film Thickness and Coverage

S o, you want to know how much
paint to apply to a surface, but to
find out, you must deal with a variety of
This month’s column, which originally appeared in
the July 1991 issue of JPCL, has been revised and
numbers and calculations concerning updated by PCE European Editor Brian Goldie.
such things as wet film thickness, dry ✔
film thickness, solids by volume, and
theoretical coverage.
How did this all get so complicated? the wet coating film must be to achieve the specified dry
Actually, it’s not all that bad. This month’s Applicator film thickness. (Coating thickness specifications are writ-
Training Bulletin explains how to calculate film thickness ten in DFT.) Table 2 presents this information based on
and coverage. the formula already mentioned (DFT = WFT x solids by
volume).
Solids by Volume When you look at Table 2, you will see that there is no
All coatings have solids, which form the coating film 68% along the far left column, which is the solids content
when it dries or cures. Solids content can be given by of the thinned coating. So you should round to the nearest
weight or by volume. The manufacturer needs to know number, which would be 70%. Assume that the coating
the solids by weight to determine if the paint has been specification being used requires a DFT of between 150
made properly. The painter needs to know the solids by and 250 microns. (Note: these numbers are selected for
volume to calculate dry film thickness and coverage area. purposes of the example; most coating specifications do
Solids by volume is normally given as a percentage of not allow this much of a range in coating thickness.) You
the total volume of the paint. For example, assume you can determine the required wet film thickness by reading
have 1 litre of paint, and its solids by volume is 75%. across the row marked 70% to the columns labelled 150
That means if you were to extract everything except the and 250 microns. By doing this, you can see that the wet
solids content, you would have only 750 mL of material film thickness must be between 214 and 357 microns. A
left in the container. good painter should be able to stay within this spread.
It also means that if you measure the wet film thickness
(WFT) at 100 microns, the paint film will be only 75 mi- Calculating Coverage
crons when it dries. Now, knowing the solids by volume of the paint and the
There is a simple way to calculate how thick you need coating thickness range, you can estimate how much paint
to apply paint to get the desired dry film thickness (DFT). you will need by using Table 3.
The formula is Once again, assume the volume solids of the thinned
DFT = WFT x solids by volume
This is the equation used in the example above. We
multiplied the WFT (100 microns) by the solids by vol- Table 1:
ume (75% or 0.75) to get the DFT (75 microns). Solids Content After Thinning
Of course, if you have to add thinner to the paint, the Thinner added
solids by volume will be less. The formula to determine 2% 5% 7% 10% 12% 15% 17% 20% 25% 30% 35%
the solids content of paint after thinning is more compli- 100% 98 95 93 91 89 87 85 83 80 77 74
Original solids content of material before adding thinner

cated than the equation above, so a table in which the 95% 93 90 89 86 85 83 81 79 76 73 70

90% 88 86 84 82 80 78 77 75 72 69 67
calculations have already been worked out often is used.
85% 83 81 79 77 76 74 73 71 68 65 63
For example, assume you want to thin a coating with 80% 78 76 75 73 71 70 68 67 64 62 59
75% volume solids by 10% and then determine its new 75% 74 71 70 68 67 65 64 63 60 58 56
solids content. Using Table 1, find the row for 75% vol- 70% 69 67 65 64 63 61 60 59 56 54 52
ume solids along the left side and read across the row to 65% 64 62 61 59 58 57 56 54 52 50 48
60% 59 57 56 55 54 52 51 50 48 46 44
the column for 10% thinner added. The row and the col-
55% 54 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 44 42 41
umn meet at 68%, which is the solids by volume of the 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 40 39 37
50% 49
thinned coating. 45% 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 33
40% 39 38 37 36 36 35 34 33 32 31 30
Calculating DFT 35% 34 33 32 31 31 30 30 29 28 27 26
30% 29 29 28 27 27 26 26 25 24 23 22
Now that the paint is thinned, and you know that the
25% 24 24 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 19 19
new solids content is 68%, you can determine how thick
60 PCE July 2000
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 ApplicatorTrainingBulletin

Table 2:
Wet Film Thickness Requirements
Dry film thickness (microns)
spray systems, the loss can
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 425
be even higher.
100% 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 425 If you are painting struc-
95% 53 80 105 132 158 184 211 237 263 290 342 352 368 395 421 447 tural steel, you can expect
90% 56 83 111 139 167 194 222 250 278 306 361 361 389 417 444 472 more loss from overspray
85% 59 88 118 147 177 206 235 265 294 324 382 382 412 441 471 500
than when you are painting
80% 63 94 125 156 188 219 250 281 313 344 406 406 438 469 500 531
Solids content after thinning

200 500
large, flat steel plates. Gener-
75% 67 100 133 167 233 267 300 333 367 433 433 467 533 567
70% 71 107 143 179 214 250 286 321 357 393 464 464 500 536 571 607 ally, the smaller the work-
65% 77 115 154 192 231 269 308 346 385 423 462 500 539 577 615 654 piece is, the more loss you
60% 83 125 167 208 250 292 333 375 417 458 will have from overspray.
55% 91 136 182 227 273 318 364 409 455
Also, if you are applying
50% 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
333
primer to blast-cleaned steel,
45% 111 167 222 278 389 444
40% 125 188 250 313 375 438 you may need as much as
35% 143 214 286 357 429 20–30% extra paint because
30% 167 250 333 417 of the extra surface area
25% 200 300 400 from the anchor pattern.
Note:
Note:DryDry
film film
Thicknesses are minimum. No allowance No
is made for evaporation of solvents during application.
thicknesses are minimum. allowance is made for evaporation of solvents during application. These are rough estimates.
Experience is the best guide
paint is 68% (rounded up to 70%) and that the specified for estimating the loss factor to be expected on a particu-
DFT is 150–250 microns. Using 200 microns as an average, lar job.
follow the 70% row in Table 3 across to the 200 microns
DFT column. You’ll find that 1 litre of paint should cover
3.5 m2 of surface area. However, as the table heading
notes, this is the theoretical coverage area. This means 1
litre of paint will cover 3.5 m2 only if you use all the paint
in the pail, leave none in the hose, lose none to overspray,
don’t spill any, and apply it to a very smooth surface. What
are the chances of all that happening?
To get a realistic coverage rate, you must include a “loss
factor” in the calculations. Depending on conditions, the
loss factor can be as little as 5% or as much as 50% or
more. Normal loss is 15–20%. For this example, let’s use
20%. To calculate realistic coverage, multiply 3.5 m2 by
20% (0.20). Then subtract the result (0.7 m2) from 3.5 m2.
This gives you a realistic coverage rate of 2.8 m2 per litre
of paint.
How many litres of this paint would you need to cover a
particular surface? Measure the surface area and then di-
vide it by the realistic coverage rate. For example, if the sur-
face area to be painted is 290 m2 and the coverage rate is
2.8 m2 per litre, you would need 103.5 litres of paint, which
would be rounded up to 104 litres, of course.
This example uses a 20% paint loss factor to calculate re-
alistic coverage. The loss factor is very important in esti-
mating the amount of paint needed for a job, and many
things can affect the loss factor. For example, applying the
paint by brush or roller means very little paint loss, main-
ly the paint left in the can. Airless spray application, how-
ever, can result in a loss factor of 15–20% from the paint
that rebounds from the surface, and with conventional

PCE July 2000 61

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 ApplicatorTrainingBulletin

use the information presented

Table 3: in this article to calculate the
Theoretical Coverage in Square Metres per Litre following:
Required dry film thickness per coat (microns) • solids content of the paint
25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 after thinning;
100% 40 20 13.3 10 8 6.7 5.7 5 4.4 4 3.6 3.3 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.5 • WFT range needed; and
95% 38 19 12.6 9.5 7.6 6.4 5.4 4.8 4.2 3.8 3.4 3.1 3 2.8 2.6 2.4
• theoretical coverage area.
90% 36 18 12 9 7.2 6.1 5.1 4.5 4 3.6 3.2 3 2.8 2.6 2.4 2.3
34 17 11.3 8.5 6.8 5.7 4.9 4.3 3.7 3.4 3.1 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.1
By estimating the anticipated
85%
80% 32 16 10.5 8 6.4 5.4 4.6 4 3.5 3.2 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.2 2 loss factor, you also can calcu-
late the practical coverage
Solids content by volume

75% 30 15 10 7.5 6 5 4.3 3.8 3.3 3 2.7 2.5 2.3 2.2 2 1.9
70% 28 14 9.3 7 5.6 4.7 4 3.5 3.1 2.8 2.5 2.3 2.2 2 1.9 1.8 area, and then, by measuring
65% 26 13 8.7 6.5 5.2 4.4 3.7 3.3 2.9 2.6 2.3 2.2 2 1.9 1.8 1.6 the size of the area to be paint-
60% 24 12 8 6 4.8 4 3.4 3 2.6 2.4 2.2 2 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.5
ed, you can calculate how
55% 22 11 7.3 5.5 4.4 3.7 3.1 2.8 2.4 2.2 2 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4
50% 20 10 6.7 5 4 3.4 2.9 2.5 2.2 2 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 many litres of paint you need.
45% 18 9 6 4.5 3.6 3 2.6 2.3 2 1.8 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 However, how close these cal-
40% 16 8 5.3 4 3.2 2.7 2.3 2 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.08 1 culations are to reality can be
35% 14 7 4.7 3.5 2.8 2.3 2 1.8 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 1 0.95 0.9 affected, of course, by the ex-
30% 12 6 4 3 2.4 2 1.7 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.1 1 0.9 0.9 0.81 0.8
perience and competence of
25% 10 5 3.3 2.5 2 1.7 1.4 1.3 1.1 1 0.9 0.8 0.78 0.7 0.68 0.6
the painter on the job.
Conclusion
If you know the solids content of the paint you are using
Next month: What you should know about
and the specified DFT range of the applied coating, you can
applying water-borne coatings

62 PCE July 2000

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