How much does a quart of paint cover?
A quart of wall paint covers about 88 to 100 square feet in one coat, and half that in two. The arithmetic, and what a quart covers at every coverage rate.
About 88–100 ft² in one coat, or 44–50 ft² in two.
A quart is a quarter of a gallon, and a gallon of wall paint is rated for 350–400 ft². With a roller's waste taken off, one coat comes nearer 80 ft².
How that is worked out
- A quart is 0.25 of a gallon, so it covers a quarter of what the can says a gallon does.
- At 350–400 ft² per gallon, that is 88–100 ft² for a single coat.
- Two coats spread the same quart over half the wall: 44–50 ft².
What one quart covers, by the coverage printed on the can
| Can says | One coat | Two coats | One coat, rolled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 ft²/gal | 63 ft² | 31 ft² | 57 ft² |
| 300 ft²/gal | 75 ft² | 38 ft² | 68 ft² |
| 350 ft²/gal | 88 ft² | 44 ft² | 80 ft² |
| 400 ft²/gal | 100 ft² | 50 ft² | 91 ft² |
Worth knowing
- The figure on the can is measured on a smooth, primed surface. Bare drywall, fresh plaster and anything textured all drink more, so take the low end of the range or below it.
- A quart is the right size for trim, a door, a small bathroom's touch-ups or a test patch. Past about one accent wall in two coats, a gallon usually costs barely more than the quarts it replaces.
- Rolling loses a little paint to the roller and the tray, which is why the last column comes in under the can's figure. Brushing loses less and spraying loses a lot more.
Work out your own numbers
- Paint and finish coverage
Gallons from an area and a coat count, with the cans to buy for brush, roller or spray.
- Wainscoting layout
Even picture-frame boxes across a wall, drawn as an elevation with the cut lengths underneath.
Related questions
- Is a quart of paint enough for an accent wall?
- Usually not for two coats. A 10' × 8' wall is 80 ft², and two rolled coats at 350 ft² per gallon need about 0.50 gallons, so you would buy 3 quarts. A quart covers it once, which is fine only when the new colour is close to the old one.
- How many quarts are in a gallon?
- Four. A quart is 0.25 of a gallon, which is why a quart covers a quarter of the gallon figure on the can.
- Does a quart of primer cover the same as a quart of paint?
- Roughly, by the can, but primer goes onto the surfaces that absorb the most, bare drywall and raw wood, so in practice it covers less than its label. Read the coverage printed on the primer itself and use the low end.