Technical field resource
Industrial Paint Calculator
Protective Coating Quantity, Coverage & Film Thickness Calculator
Estimate coating quantities, theoretical spreading rates, wet film thickness, dry film thickness, and material requirements for industrial and marine protective coating applications.
DG Goddard Inspection & Consulting
Industrial Paint Calculator
DG@ProtectiveCoatingSpecialist.ca 236-882-5872
Material consumption
Paint Consumption
Estimate theoretical consumption and add a practical application allowance for the work.
Estimated Paint Required
- Theoretical spreading rate
- 3 m²/L
- Theoretical quantity
- 313 L
- Quantity per coat
- 313 L
- Application allowance
- 20%
- Total litres
- 375 L
- Equivalent
- 99 US gal
Coverage
Theoretical & Practical Coverage
Compare theoretical spreading rate with a planning allowance for application loss.
Practical Planning Coverage
- Theoretical coverage
- 3 m²/L
- Practical planning coverage
- 3 m²/L
- Theoretical US coverage
- 130 ft²/US gal
- Practical US coverage
- 109 ft²/US gal
Theoretical coverage is reduced by the selected additive application allowance for planning purposes.
Wet film thickness
WFT from Required DFT
Calculate a wet-film target range from minimum and maximum dry-film requirements.
Wet Film Thickness Range
- Minimum WFT
- 313 µm
- Maximum WFT
- 375 µm
- Equivalent range
- 12–15 mils
- Effective volume solids
- 80%
Any thinner correction is mathematical only; approved product limits govern.
Dry film thickness
DFT from Measured WFT
Estimate resulting dry-film thickness from wet-film thickness and volume solids.
Estimated Dry Film Thickness
- Estimated DFT
- 250 µm
- Equivalent
- 10 mils
- Effective volume solids
- 80%
A calculated estimate; actual cured film should be verified by specified inspection methods.
Unit conversion
DFT / WFT Conversion
Convert coating film thickness between microns and mils. One mil equals 25.4 µm.
Converted Film Thickness
- Microns
- 25.4 µm
- Mils
- 1 mil
Bresle method · ISO 8502-6 / ISO 8502-9
Surface Density of Soluble Salts
Calculate soluble-salt surface density from the blank-corrected change in conductivity of an extracted surface sample.
Surface Density of Soluble Salts
- Initial conductivity γ₁
- 0 µS/cm
- Final conductivity γ₂
- 20 µS/cm
- Conductivity change Δγ
- 20 µS/cm
- Calculated surface density ρA
- 24 mg/m²
- Equivalent
- 2 µg/cm²
ISO 8502-9 calculation: ρA = c × 10² × V × Δγ ÷ A, using c = 5. With A = 1,250 mm² and V = 3 mL, each 1 µS/cm of conductivity change equals 1.2 mg/m². The project specification—not this calculation—sets the acceptance limit.
Surface profile allowance
Dead Volume Estimate
Estimate preliminary coating volume associated with filling a defined surface-profile depth.
Preliminary Profile-Fill Volume
- Dry profile volume
- 30 L
- Wet coating estimate
- 38 L
- Equivalent
- 10 US gal
Profile height alone does not define actual void volume. Use this only as a preliminary planning reference; profile shape, substrate condition, and application method affect consumption.
Material estimate
Paint Cost Estimate
Estimate adjusted coating volume, material cost, whole kits, and surplus material.
Estimated Material Cost
- Theoretical litres
- 313 L
- Adjusted litres
- 375 L
- Litres per coat
- 313 L
- Whole kits required
- —
- Total purchased volume
- —
- Estimated surplus
- —
Passive fire protection material planning
Intumescent / PFP Calculator
Estimate PPG STEELGUARD 951 material from a certified required DFT. Fire-design values must be entered from the applicable approved design or schedule.
Required Intumescent DFT
- Product
- —
- Member type
- —
- Fire rating
- —
- Section factor
- —
- Fire design reference
- —
- Required DFT
- —
- Theoretical kg/m²
- —
- Practical kg/m²
- —
- Steel area
- —
- Total material required
- —
- Loss / wastage
- —
- Kit size
- —
- Kits required
- —
- Total ordered
- —
- Estimated surplus
- —
Product Information
PPG STEELGUARD 951
100% volume solids · 300–3500 µm recommended DFT per coat · up to 240-minute cellulosic fire protection.
18 kg Single Feed kit · 60 kg Plural Feed kit · 3:1 Base : Hardener by volume · 3.56:1 by weight.
CAN/ULC-S101 · UL 263 · ASTM E119
Advanced Settings
Loss / wastage, steel area, kit type, and the certified DFT are entered above for project-specific planning. Verified loading-table points can be added later without changing this calculator.
What is Section Factor?
Section factor represents the relationship between the heated perimeter of a steel member and its cross-sectional area.
SF = Hp / A
- Hp
- heated/exposed perimeter, m
- A
- steel cross-sectional area, m²
- SF
- section factor, m⁻¹
A higher section factor generally means the steel heats more rapidly and may require a greater intumescent coating thickness.
The correct heated perimeter depends on whether the member is exposed on 3 sides, 4 sides, boxed-in, protected by decking, or otherwise configured.
Field reference
Technical Disclaimer
This calculator provides theoretical estimates for preliminary planning and field reference. Actual coating consumption may vary due to surface profile, substrate geometry, application method, transfer efficiency, overspray, environmental conditions, mixing losses, and other project-specific factors. Product Technical Data Sheets and project specifications should always govern coating application and material requirements.