Coverage rates, tin sizes, and how to avoid both over-buying and the dreaded mid-job Bunnings run.
Australian paint manufacturers publish coverage rates that are technically accurate but rarely match reality. Here’s how to work out paint quantities properly, plus a free paint quantity calculator that does the maths for you.
Textured walls (sand finish render, popcorn ceiling): drop coverage by ~20%. Bare or porous (new gyprock, raw timber): drop another 25%. Always assume two coats on a colour change; sometimes three on big tone shifts.
Australian standard tin sizes: 1L, 2L, 4L, 10L, 15L. A 15L tin is 25-30% cheaper per litre than 4L tins. If your calculation lands close to a tin boundary (e.g. 9L needed), it’s almost always cheaper to buy one 10L than three 4L.
Always. For touch-ups in 6-12 months. Paint colour-matches drift between tins from different batches, so leftover paint from your original tin is the only way to get a perfect touch-up match.
Wall area roughly 240 m² (3-bed home, 2.4m ceilings, average room layouts). 2 coats × 240 m² = 480 m² coverage needed. Premium acrylic: 480 / 14 = ~34L. Round up to 35L. Buy: 1× 15L + 2× 10L = 35L. Add 4L for touch-ups = ~$420-$580 in paint depending on brand.
Skip the maths entirely with our paint quantity calculator — it picks the most efficient tin combination from common Australian sizes. Or get 3 quotes via Find a Painter — every painter quote includes all materials.
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