Coverage in square feet per pound at 1 mil equals 192.3 divided by the powder's specific gravity, so a powder with a specific gravity of 1.5 covers about 128 square feet per pound at 1 mil, or about 51 at 2.5 mils. Estimators then divide by the expected material utilization to get real consumption. Heavily pigmented and filled powders have a higher specific gravity and cover less area.
Theoretical coverage on the gray is only 110 at a mil, so bump the quote, that stuff's heavy.
Specific gravity matters as much as price per pound: a cheap, high-filler powder can cost more per part.
Also heard as
- coverage
- sq ft per pound
Related terms
Film build
The thickness of the cured coating, usually given in mils or microns.
Mil
One thousandth of an inch, exactly 25.4 microns, the everyday unit for coating thickness in North America.
Transfer efficiency
The share of sprayed powder that ends up on the part rather than in the booth.
Reclaim
Oversprayed powder collected from the booth and fed back into the system for reuse.