Question:

There are a lot of claims about how much a gallon of truck bed liner coating covers. How many square feet does SL&C brand bedliner cover, and how thick?

Answer:

How much any coating covers depends on two things:

1. How thick you want the finished product to be
2. What the percentage of solids (amount remaining after the liquid dries or cures) is

Most of our coatings are 100% solids (don’t shrink as they cure), so you get the maximum coverage possible from any product. This is considered “wet film thickness, compared to dry film thickness”. Unlike paint (which is primarily intended to color and provide basic protection from the elements), our coatings are also designed to be able to endure impact or abrasion protection in addition to basic weather or conditions protection. With a coating, you are building a thick, protective layer, not just coloring, and this requires additional materials. Coatings are generally applied much thicker than paint, but that is entirely dependent on your specific needs.

Coverage per Gallon:

To calculate the coverage per gallon, it all comes down to how thick you want to apply the coating. The math involved is that 1 gallon of any liquid will cover 1604 square feet at 1 mil (1/1000th inch). You simply divide 1604 by the desired mil height. As an example, you could cover 40 square feet at 40 mil (1 mm). The math per gallon is: 1604 / 40 = 40 square feet.
If you were using something like latex paint (which is about 50% solids), you would then multiply the square footage by the % solids (or… 0.5 in this case). This would mean that you get 20 square feet of coverage at 40 mil if using latex paint. With a 100% solids products, you multiply by 1.0 and get the original 40 mil coating.

Coverage Example:

A truck bed liner application is recommended at a minimum of 45 mils, koi pond at 30 – 45 mils, general purpose and water proofing at about 20 mils. The formula to determine how many gallons required (if using 100% solids) is: “sq. ft. total / (1604 / mil height)”. Using 20 mils as an example, at 1100 sq. ft, this coating would be: 1100 / 80.2 or 13.72 gallons.

Calculating Coverage for Other Products:

As mentioned, most coatings (and virtually ALL single part coatings) are not 100% solids. They lose volume and shrink as they dry. In general, most of these type coatings are about 55% – 65% solids. To compare these coatings by volume, just divide the gallons required using 100% solids by the % solids of your coating. As an example, if a coating is 57% solids, you would require 24.07 gallons for the same coverage (13.72 / .57). It all depends on how thick you want to apply the coating as to how much coverage you will get, but if any single part product says they get say 200 sq. ft of coverage, you can expect about 330+ sq. ft coverage at the same mil height using our Seal Tite or Spray Lining and Coatings brand products.

If you know the % solids (by volume) of our competitor product, simply divide the number of gallons by the % solids to find out how much you need. For instance: Raptor is 57% solids, so 1 gal. / .57 = 1.75 gallons of Raptor compared to 1 gallon of Spray Lining and Coatings brand products.

Additional Tools and Advice:

You can use our Coatings Coverage Calculator to do the math with respect to our coatings.

If we can be of additional assistance, please feel free to get in touch directly by calling our 1-855-545-4900 number and entering extension 902 at any time for sales support.