How Much Does 1 Litre of Paint Cover

About How Much Does 1 Litre of Paint Cover

One litre of interior emulsion covers about 10 square metres in a single coat on a smooth, prepared, previously painted wall, which works out to about 5 square metres finished in the usual two coats. That is a small area in practice: roughly a section of wall two metres wide by two and a half high, or a small hallway wall. The ten square metre figure is the manufacturer number, measured under favourable conditions, and several things reduce it. Bare plaster absorbs the first coat heavily and can take a third more paint. Textured surfaces have more real surface area than their flat measurement suggests. Rollering with a thick pile applies more paint per pass than a short pile. And painting a light colour over a dark one usually needs an extra coat, which is the same thing as halving your effective coverage again. One litre tins are the practical size for woodwork, a single small wall, or touching up rather than for a room. For a full room a 2.5 or 5 litre tin is almost always better value per litre. For the larger sizes see How Much Does 2.5 Litres of Paint Cover and How Much Does 5 Litres of Paint Cover.

How to use How Much Does 1 Litre of Paint Cover

  1. Enter room length, width, and wall height in metres
  2. Set the number of doors and windows to subtract their area
  3. Choose number of coats and see litres and gallons needed

Frequently Asked Questions

How many square metres does 1 litre of paint cover?
About 10 square metres for one coat on a smooth prepared wall, and about 5 square metres finished if you apply the usual two coats. Textured or bare surfaces reduce that noticeably.
Is 1 litre enough for a small room?
No. Even a small 3 by 3 metre room has around 27 square metres of wall after deductions, which needs about 5.4 litres for two coats. One litre suits woodwork, a single small wall or touch-ups.
Why does my paint not go as far as the tin says?
Tin figures are measured on smooth, sealed, previously painted surfaces under good conditions. Bare plaster, texture, a thick roller pile and covering a darker colour all reduce real coverage, often by a third or more.
Does 1 litre cover more with one coat?
It covers twice the area of two coats, but one coat rarely looks finished except when repainting a very similar colour. Plan for two and treat single coat coverage as a theoretical figure rather than a practical one.
Is it cheaper to buy several 1 litre tins or one big one?
Larger tins are almost always cheaper per litre. Buy 1 litre tins when you genuinely need a small amount or want several colours, not as a way of building up to a room quantity.

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