Using Simple Math to Determine Actual Truck Bedliner Coverage Requirements (or any Other Coating Project)
There are many claims regarding how much coverage you will get and how many square feet a given product will cover. This article provides simple math to prove or disprove these claims.
Coverage Facts (no False Claim Can Change These):
- A gallon is a volume of measurement equal to 231 cubic inches (check it out on Google)
- Most coating recommendations are given in mils (which is 1/1000th of an inch)
- One gallon provides 1,604 sq. ft. @ 1 mil thickness maximum
- ANY single part liquid cures by drying (losing part of its volume by evaporation)
- If any liquid is (for instance) 40% VOC (the part that evaporates), it will only cover 60% as much as a 100% solids product
Follow These 3 Simple Math Steps to Calculate Your Actual Coating Needs:
- 1604 / (your thickness desired in mils) = A (true sq. ft. per gallon)
- (your project total sq. ft.) / A = B (actual gallons required with 100% solids) – go to step 3 if not 100% solids
- B / (% solids expressed as decimal) = C (total gallons required)
Example: For a 200 sqare foot area with 100-mil desired thickness, divide 1,604 by 100 which equals 16.04 square feet per gallon. Then divide your required square footage (200) by that number to get the minimum number of gallons required. In this example, a 200 sq. ft. area would require 12.5 gallons (1604 / 100 = 16.04, then 200 / 16.04 = 12.47).
NOTE: If your coating is any 1-part product, you should generally add at least 40% to account for evaporation (divide 12.5 by .6 in this case to come up with 20.8 gallons).
Real Simple Math to Calculate Coverage Requirement for Truck Beds
Given a thickness of 63 mil (recommended minimum truck bed liner thickness) one gallon would cover 25.46 square feet. For easy truck bed coverage calculations, simply divide the total square footage by 25. That provides the gallons required at 63 mils (if using 100% solids 2-part coatings with no waste).
* Be sure to add according to step 3 above if using a 1-part product (SL&C recommends only 2-part products be used to provide real truck bed protection). Also, generally add about 10% for waste. *
If you would like to have us do the math, or need help estimating your actual truck bed surface area, we have put together a handy tool for your use. Just click on our Truck Bed Coverage Calculator and insert your measurements for exact truck bed coating calculations.
Challenge the False Claims Made by Many Bedliner Retailers
Be wary of false claims made by SL&C’s competition. For instance, look closely at this claim from a competitor: “One gallon of Durabak (Textured) is going to cover approximately 60 square feet when you apply two coats. Proper application will give you a surface of about a 1/16th of an inch thick with the textured.”. Remember: 1000 mils = 1 inch, so 1000 / 63 mils = 1/16th inch (same thickness as this claim). As stated earlier, no gallon of ANY material can POSSIBLY cover more than 25.46 square feet at 16th inch. Claims like this are common amongst the majority of those competing with Spray Lining & Coatings and should be exposed as false.
I’ve tried and studied pricing on other spray-on bedliners, polyurea both DIY and from dealer quotes. As a collision shop I’ve done truck bed liners with Raptor, Herculiner and Rhino Pro. The Raptor came with this cheap shutz gun with no cup. The Herculiner had a cheap, plastic roller. Rhino Pro was bette but at $33 per 1500 ml cartridge that was over $90 / gallon + that cartridge gun was $680 … Your SL&C cartridge system is the same thing but for much less $. Your DIY price provided much more volume of polyurea per dollar. Great deal. Great product and your DIY equipment is decent. If my shop surpasses 8 truck beds weekly I’ll spring for your Graco E-10. Thank You, Bernie Hagler
Thinking of rhinolining my 93 f150 how many gallons for a 1/4 thick coating.
What thickness is actually perferd for full truck coverage?
For a 6′ bed, you can generally estimate about 85 square feet of surface if covering the bed and wall areas. Most professional quality jobs are about 63 mil (63 1/1000th inch, or 1/16th inch). That’s 1/4 of your target thickness. They usually spray the edges and rail cap at twice that thickness (primarily to give a thicker overall impression), but even spraying at that thickness throughout would be 1/8th inch (125 mil). The walls are usually done about 2/3 as thick as the bed surface regardless.
If you use a 100% solids product such as ours (doesn’t shrink as it hardens), you would get the greatest coverage possible. For any estimate, you would divide 1604 by the desired mil height for the coverage per gallon. Then divide the square footage by that number for the total gallons required. For instance: 1604 / 125 = 12.8 square feet per gallon at 1/8th inch. Then 85 / 12.8 = 6.6 gallons required.
Hope this helps!