Paint Color Pros: How Much Paint Do You Really Need?

How Much Paint You Really Need

How much paint you will need to satisfactorily complete a paint project is determined by 2 factors.  The first, “paint coverage”, is a familiar concept to most people.  It simply concerns the square footage of surface area to be painted, and “paint coverage calculators” abound on the web.  However, the second concept, “paint color coverage”, has a much more pronounced effect on how much paint will be needed and the cost of paint projects.  Unfortunately, “paint color coverage” is a novel concept to many painters and, in fact, is poorly understood even by many professionals.  Knowing the secrets of paint color coverage will allow you to reduce the number coats you have to apply and minimize how much paint you have to buy.

“Paint color coverage” refers to the fact that new coats of paint are always affected by the pre-existing colors on the surface before the fresh coats are applied.  This fact is unavoidable, but there are a few tricks that will help you overcome this problem and may save you hundreds on your next paint project.  These money-saving secrets relate to how you use your primer. 

Reasons to Use Primer with Paint

Primer plays 2 important roles in painting projects.  Firstly, if you are painting a wall that has never been painted (with water-based paint) before, primer will allow your new paint to stick (or “mechanically bond”) to the surface.  Since primer is typically not necessary if the wall has previously been painted, many people skip this step.  Unfortunately, doing so negates its 2^nd (often, more valuable) role in color coverage.

There are 2 methods for using primer to aid in color coverage.  In the first case, when applying light color paint to a darker wall color, you can maximize your color coverage by applying a white primer coat before applying your new paint.  In the second case, when painting dark color paint onto a lighter wall color, maximize your color coverage by having your primer “tinted” the same color as your new paint.  Many people are surprised to learn that this is possible.  But the fact is, your local paint retailer will happily add any color they carry to any primer you want (thereby “tinting” it) for free!

Use Plain White Primer for Light Paint Colors

In our first case, if you decide to paint a wall in your house with a light yellow color, but the wall is currently a deep dark brown, you will go through bucket after bucket of paint trying to cover that brown, easily doing 4 - 6 coats or more.  But if you put down a coat of white primer first, you could be done after 2 coats of paint. 

The reasoning here is simple.  Every color in the visible spectrum can be assigned a number based on a luminosity scale (a scale from light to dark) from 0 to 9 where white is 0 and black is 9.  Now suppose that the brown you are trying to cover has a score of 8, and the yellow paint you want to apply has a 4. 

When you apply a coat of paint to a wall, it doesn’t fully cover the surface, so the new paint color essentially mixes with the color of the wall.  Suppose that mixing these 2 colors produces a new color that is essentially the average of the first 2, so the first coat of yellow over the brown will give you a color with a luminosity score of 6 (8+4=12, 12/2=6).  After that dries, adding another coat of yellow (score of 4) brings the color on the wall to a score of 5.

Like this, it will actually take quite a while to reach a number that is close enough to the yellow color you’ve chosen that you can’t tell any difference (and mathematically, you will never actually reach an average of 4!) 

However, if you put a coat of pure white primer (which has a score of 0) on top of the brown first, this immediately brings your luminosity score down to 4 (8 + 0 = 8/2 = 4, the average).  This means you may only need one coat of yellow paint to give you the right hue and saturation.  In reality of course, you will always want to do at least 2 coats.  But even with a total of 3 coats (primer and paint) you are way ahead of the paint-only option. 

Use Tinted Primer for Dark Paint Colors

In our second case, suppose you want to apply a deep, dark blue to a beige wall.  The good news is that it will be easier to darken a light color than it was to lighten a dark color.  In fact, it may only take 2 – 4 coats to get total color coverage in this scenario.  The bad news is that if you start out with a white primer you are already moving in the wrong direction.  Doing so could increase the number of paint coats you need to 3 – 6… plus the coat of primer!  That’s a lot of painting!

Fortunately, you can always get your primer tinted for free.  Getting your primer colored the same as your paint will save you a coat of paint.  Of course, I always recommend doing a minimum of 2 coats of paint so that your finish sheen looks consistent.

Even if you don’t need to apply a coat of primer before your new coats of paint, doing so will always save you money.  Whether you use white or tinted primer, a coat of primer is always more cost effective for one simple reason: It is cheaper!  In fact, primer may cost as little as half as much as standard paint.  If you get it tinted the same as your paint, then it is cheaper by the coat.  If you use white, as in the first scenario above, it will also minimize the number of coats of paint you have to apply.  Either way it reduces how much paint you have to buy.

Do you want to learn more about how to save tons of money by avoiding the traps that paint company marketers set for you?

If so, this article will give you everything you need to know: “Paint Companies Make 40% of Their Profits from Your Paint Color Mistakes!”

Or do you need to know more about how to use paint and primer most effectively

If so, check out this blog post:  “Cost of Premium Paint and Primer in One!”

Do you want to know how to save $1000s on paint and remodeling projects, pick perfect paint colors, design beautiful interiors, and increase your home’s value by 23% or more!?

If so, this will be exactly what you’ve been looking for: Paint Color Miracle ™

You Don’t Have to Waste Money on Premium Paint and Primer in One!

The “Paint and Primer in One” Buzz

You’ve seen it on TV, you’ve heard about it at the home improvement stores… high-end “paint and primer in one” products are available from many of the major paint companies.  They cost 20% to 60% more than the primary paint line and offer better coverage with less hassle – but are they worth the money, or is it just a clever way to get you, the consumer, to shell out a little more dough for a can of paint?

The most popular commercial is a Lowe’s advertisement where a young couple with a new house is desperately trying to paint over the bold green and white stripes left on the walls of their den by the previous resident.  This poor couple can’t understand why their new red paint won’t cover up those terrible stripes!  Luckily, the Lowe’s Paint-Counter Employee in the commercial is there to help…  She happily reassures the desperate couple that all they need to do is buy this slightly higher (priced) quality paint – which is available right there in the store – and all their problems will be solved… whew!

Behr and Valspar

That commercial is for Valspar’s Signature line of paint which is a “paint and primer in one” product just like Behr’s Premium Plus Ultra paint line.  These paints retail for $32 to $33 a gallon and claim to offer better coverage than standard paints.  But the standard paint lines only cost $21 to $23 per gallon.  That means the ultra paint line costs 45% to 55% more money.  So do the signature/ultra paint and primer in one lines really offer 50% better coverage?  And more important, is the amount of enhanced coverage worth the increased cost of paint?

Optimizing Your Primer

For starters, it may not always be necessary to use primer.  Applying a new coat of latex paint (water-based, most common today) over an existing coat of latex paint does not require primer.  At least, it’s not a physical requirement – in order to make the paint stick to the wall.  However, using a primer is a good idea in order to help with coverage issues.  In other words, putting down a coat of primer can help you cover the colors that are currently on a wall.  The trick is that you have to know how to “optimize” your primer.

The secret here is something most professional painters don’t even realize, and paint retailers won’t tell you (especially now, with these high-priced premium paint lines on the market).  That secret is this… you can tint your standard primer to whatever color you are painting with!  That’s right, the common Kilz, Zinsser, or whatever off-the-shelf primer you want to use can be tinted to any color that your paint retailer sells… for free!  Plus, not only is primer cheaper than signature/ultra paint – it is cheaper than the standard paint lines!  A gallon of primer is typically $14 to $16 compared to $22 for standard paint and $33 for ultra.  Wherever you get your paint mixed, just ask the employee behind the counter to add your paint color to your can of primer and they will happily oblige; and it doesn’t cost a dime.

Of course, there is a little bit more to it than that.  This is where “optimizing” your primer comes in.  It’s not always a good idea to tint your primer – for color coverage reasons.  It may actually be more effective to use a plain white primer to get the best paint color coverage.  It all depends on what color your wall is currently and what color you want to paint it.

Knowing exactly when to tint your primer and when to use plain white is another matter.  To understand it a little better, check this out: How Much Paint Coverage Can You Achieve?   But for the purposes of this article, if you are using a lighter paint color than is on the wall, use white primer.  If you are painting with a darker color than is currently on the wall, get your primer tinted.  More often than not, it should be fairly obvious which option to choose for your situation.

Saving on the Cost of Paint

As long as you make this decision correctly, thereby “optimizing” your primer, you will definitely save money by using a standard quality paint line.  If you begin by assuming that 2 coats of signature/ultra quality paint covers exactly as well as 3 coats of standard quality paint, then the price will be equivalent using either method.  However, since your 3 standard coats can include 1 coat of primer, and primer is significantly cheaper, you will definitely save money taking the traditional route. 

Plus, staying away from the “paint and primer in one” signature/ultra paint lines can save you a lot more money on bigger projects.  While primer by the gallon is about 35% cheaper than standard paint by the gallon, when you buy it by the 5-gallon bucket primer is about 50% the price of standard paint.  Furthermore, if you do get your primer tinted, you can apply 2 coats of tinted primer before your finish coats of paint.  This would save you substantially over the signature/ultra cost of paint.

As it turns out, there are very few situations where you should opt to pay 50% more for paint and primer in one, when you can get regular primer tinted to your paint color for 50% less instead!

 

Do you want to learn more about how to save tons of money by avoiding the traps that paint company marketers set for you?

If so, this article will give you everything you need to know: “Paint Companies Make 40% of Their Profits from Your Paint Color Mistakes!”

Or do you need to know how to use paint and primer

If so, check out this blog post:  “Minimize How Much Paint You Need by Maximizing Your Paint Color Coverage”

Do you want to know how to save $1000s on paint and remodeling projects, pick perfect paint colors, design beautiful interiors, and increase your home’s value by 23% or more!?

If so, this will be exactly what you’ve been looking for: Paint Color Miracle ™