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Cleaning Chemical Calculator
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Finish Film Build Calculator

Convert a coat count and a wet application rate into the dry film build a finish schedule actually delivers against a stated requirement.

Inputs

Range: 1–12

Enter the measured or label value in the units shown.

Range: 0.1–20 mils

The spread rate you apply at, expressed as wet film thickness. From the applicator or the data sheet.

Range: 1–100

Percent solids by volume, from section 9 of the technical data sheet. It is what turns wet mils into dry mils.

Range: 0–20 mils

From the finish warranty or the programme specification. Enter 0 when there is no stated requirement.

Result

Dry build less the requirement
0.30 mils
Coats needed to reach the requirement
3 coats
Dry film across the schedule
1.20 mils
Dry film per coat
0.400 mils
Wet film across the schedule
6.00 mils
Reading: what this result means for the job
The schedule reaches the required dry build. A coat count is not a specification, so confirm the build on a coupon or a test strip after the first coat rather than trusting the arithmetic alone.
Applicability limit
The build is calculated from the wet film per coat and the percent solids by volume, both taken from the data sheet. Solids by weight is not the same number and will not produce the same result, and the first coat on a porous substrate loses part of its film to absorption. The build that counts is the one measured on the floor, with a wet film gauge during application and a dry film reading after cure. This is a planning figure for the values entered, not a measured result. Coverage rates, product yields and application rates are properties of a specific product, applicator and substrate, and the label or data sheet for the product you are using always takes precedence over the default here.
Check before the job

Working

Wet film across the schedule
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Dry film across the schedule
—
Dry film per coat
—
Dry build less the requirement
—
Coats needed to reach the requirement
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What to check

  • Read percent solids by volume from section 9 of the technical data sheet.
  • Measure wet film on the floor with a wet film gauge during the first coat.
  • Confirm the required dry build from the warranty wording rather than a sales claim.

Related calculators

A coat count is not a specification; a dry film build is. This tool uses the wet mils per coat and the percent solids by volume from the data sheet, and it does not assume either. Film build measured on a coupon is the only real verification. The gap it reports is signed: a negative figure is a shortfall, not a surplus, and the coats needed to reach the requirement are given alongside it.