Enrichment · Arts and Creativity · Woodworking

Enough finish,
not a shelf of cans.

List the parts, read the coverage off the label and choose your coats. The estimator adds up every face and picks the mix of cans that covers it for the least.

Estimate my finishWhat you get

The wood finish coverage estimator

The worked example is an oak bookcase with five shelves, three coats of clear finish and example can prices. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Enrichment · Arts & CreativityFree

What you finish with
The square feet to finish, the finish needed in quarts and fluid ounces, part by part, and the cheapest mix of half-pints, quarts and gallons that covers it with what will be left. It prints as a shopping and shop-wall sheet.
Who it is for
Woodworkers and makers finishing a project, students in a shop, design or engineering class, and families refinishing a piece of furniture.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Arts & Creativity space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Measure each part in inches.
  2. Count the faces to finish.
  3. Copy the coverage from the label.
  4. Choose the coats.
  5. Add can prices to compare.

Estimate my finish

How the finish is estimated

Faces, coats and the label’s coverage, then the cans.

The worked example: an oak bookcaseSurface74.0 sq ftfour parts, all facesThree coats222 sq ftof finish to lay downAt 125 per quart1.95 qtwith 10% allowanceBuy2 quarts$43.96The worked example: an oak bookcaseSurface74.0 sq ftfour parts, all facesThree coats222 sq ftof finish to lay downAt 125 per quart1.95 qtwith 10% allowanceBuy2 quarts$43.96
Add up the faces, multiply by the coats, divide by the label’s coverage and add an allowance. Then pick the mix of can sizes that covers it for the least money.

Square feet and coats

Each face is length × width in inches, divided by 144 for square feet. Every coat covers all of it again. As a check: a 60 by 36 inch tabletop finished on both faces is 60 × 36 × 2 ÷ 144 = 30 square feet; three coats is 90 square feet; at 125 square feet a quart that is 0.72 quarts, about 23 fluid ounces.

Why the allowance

A can’s coverage assumes sealed, sanded wood and a careful hand. Open-grained woods such as oak, end grain and a first coat on bare wood absorb more, and some is always lost on the brush or in a sprayer. Testing on a scrap tells you how far your can really goes.

Sources

  1. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material, chapter 16, finishing of wood (fpl.fs.usda.gov).
  2. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Handbook 44 and SI conversions: U.S. liquid measure (nist.gov).
  3. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Flammable liquids and ventilation when finishing (osha.gov).
  4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Volatile organic compounds and indoor air: using finishes safely (epa.gov).

An estimate from the figures you type; coverage varies with the product, the wood and the method. Finish in a ventilated space and lay oily rags flat to dry or keep them in a sealed metal can of water, since they can catch fire on their own. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.