Remember how frustrating it was in math class when the teacher made you show your work, and how exciting it was when you got to use a calculator. A while back MIT Powder Coatings used our love for calculators as a springboard to create our own Powder Coating Calculator.

With all the variables to consider; mil thickness, specific gravity, transfer efficiency, and square footage; it can take time to figure out how much powder is needed for a job, and in your line of work time is extremely valuable. This is why I wanted to highlight this incredible tool so you can take the guesswork out of deciding how much powder to buy.

This is our best selling powder High Gloss Black, we'll use it for our scenario. (Scroll down)

Once you determine which powder you need you’ll want to find the TDS (Technical Data Sheet).

There are 2 pieces of information that we need from the TDS, specific gravity and mil thickness.

Once those are filled in you need to figure out the square footage of your parts (Length x width of each side to be coated). Then you need to determine your Transfer Efficiency. This could be tricky and very scientific if you wanted but it’s quicker to estimate. Parts with larger surfaces and/or small empty space will have better TE than small parts or parts with large empty spaces. Based on that I would say 70%-80% TE for the former and 40%-50% for the latter.

By filling in this info the calculator gives you the theoretical square footage for a pound of powder and the total pounds needed to complete the job.

So for this job you would need about 5 lbs of powder. You can save money by buying larger quantities and the calculator makes that process simpler. Input the cost and you know what you're material cost is going to be.

So by following a few simple steps you can save yourself time and money. You get to spend less time shopping and more time spraying!

Benefits of using the Calculator:

Provide an accurate powder quote to customer before purchasing the powder

You’ll never end up ½ lb short on a job

Save time and money

Makes buying in bulk for large jobs simpler, saving you money