Always overestimate when calculating the amount of paint needed.
Paint primer is specifically developed to coat porous materials such as bare wood and provides a base onto which a top coat of paint is applied. As the surface material is likely to be porous, the amount of paint primer used will exceed the amount of top coat paint required. It's important to take this into account when calculating the amount of paint primer needed for a job.
Instructions
1. Measure the square footage of the area where you intend to apply paint primer using a tape measure. For example, if the area you intend to paint is 10 feet by 12 feet, multiply 10 by 12, using a calculator if necessary, to get 120 square feet. If the area you need to paint is more difficult to calculate, such as a triangle shape, see the "Tips" section for the appropriate method.
2. Visit a hardware or home improvement store. Make certain you take the square footage figure you calculated. Look on cans of primer paint to see what coverage you can expect. Paint manufacturers label paint primer tins with the estimated square feet the can of paint may cover. However, this is not an exact science; it depends on how porous the material you're painting is and how thickly you paint.
3. Calculate how many cans of paint you need to buy based on the square feet each can is estimated to cover. Remember, larger cans work out to be less expensive than buying several small cans of paint primer. Divide the estimated figure on the can by the square feet you worked out. For example, if a gallon of paint primer is estimated to cover 200 square feet and the area you need to paint is 400 square feet, then you need two 1-gallon cans, or one 2-gallon can. Always allow more paint than the area you calculated. You don't want to run out, and you also may need to apply more paint in certain places.
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