Paint comes in many different sizes that typically range from quarter-pint cans all the way up to five gallons cans. The amount of paint you need for a specific job depends on the total wall area you intend to paint.
So, what’s the smallest amount of paint you can buy? The smallest amount of paint is sold in half-pint (0.24) and quarter-pint (0.14 liters) cans. Paint samples are usually given out in these small sizes.
Read on to find out more about the smallest amount of paint you can buy, and find answers to other related questions you might have. Happy reading!
What’s the Smallest Amount of Paint You Can Buy?
The smallest size of paint you can buy depends on the brand or store you’re buying it from. In most cases, smaller paint sizes include one pint (0.48 liters) and half-pint (0.24 liters). The smallest size is quarter-pint (0.14 liters).
The smallest paint sizes contain very little paint and are mostly used for touch-up jobs. Since the amount of paint these sizes contain is very limited, you can not use it for major paint jobs. The half-pint size can cover about 25 sq. feet of area, while the quarter-pint size covers roughly 12 sq. feet of area.
How Much Does 8 Oz of Paint Cover?
An 8 oz (half-pint) paint can contains 0.24 liters of paint, which usually covers about 25 square feet of area. As mentioned before, such a small quantity of paint is normally used for touch-up paint jobs and not for bigger projects.
Can You Get Samples of Paint?
Yes, you can get a paint sample from any store that sells paint. Paint stores such as Sherwin-Williams and hardware stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot give out paint samples. Paint samples are given out in small sizes as you’d expect. The sample sizes usually range from 0.25 pint to 1 pint.
Are paint samples free? In most paint stores or hardware stores, you have to pay a certain amount for the paint sample and very few places give samples for free. On average, paint samples at most stores cost between $ 5 and $ 10.
To request a paint sample, find the color card of the exact color you want. Pick out a few shades that closely resemble your chosen color and request a customer service representative to prepare samples for each of them. Preparing samples usually takes under 15 minutes.
How Small Can a Paint Sample Be?
Paint samples are usually given out in very small sizes. These sizes are usually quarter-pint or half-pint. So, the smallest a paint sample can be is quarter pint (0.14 liters).
The reason paint samples are so small is that they only show the color of the paint you’ll be buying. They’re not meant to be used for actual paint jobs. Usually, paint samples are applied directly to the surface you need to paint. They cannot be removed; instead, you have to paint over them.
What Are the Different Paint Sizes?
Paint is sold in a variety of different sizes. These sizes range from very small ones (quarter pint) to very large ones (5 gallon). Here are some commonly used paint sizes and the approximate wall area they can cover.
- Quarter-pint (about 0.14 liters). Can cover roughly 12 sq. feet of wall area.
- Half-pint (about 0.24 liters). Can cover roughly 25 sq. feet of wall area.
- One pint (about 0.5 liters). Can cover roughly 50 sq. feet of wall area.
- One quart (about 0.95 liters). Can cover roughly 100 sq. feet of wall area.
- Half-gallon (about 2 liters). Can cover roughly 200 sq. feet of wall area.
- One gallon (about 4 liters). Can cover roughly 400 sq. feet of wall area.
- Five gallon (about 20 liters). Can cover roughly 1800 sq. feet of wall area.
How Much Does Paint Cost?
The price of a certain quantity of paint can vary greatly depending on the brand. Prices can also vary depending on the type of paint (oil-based or latex-based) and the finish (flat, eggshell, or high-gloss). The average price of a gallon of paint is between $20 and $ 60.
How much a can of paint costs can also depend on the color sometimes. This is because different color pigments might come from different sources. Because of this, some colors might be more expensive than others to produce.
Tips for Choosing the Right Amount of Paint
Deciding how much paint you need for a certain job such as painting an entire wall or touching up a smaller area can often be difficult. Here are some tips and guidelines to help you decide how much paint you need for your next painting project.
- Measure the total area of your walls in the room you want to paint.
- Generally, one gallon of paint is enough to paint 350 to 400 square feet of wall area. Use this rule to determine how much paint you need.
- An average-sized room has about 800 sq. feet of wall area, so two gallons of paint would be adequate.
- For rooms having a total wall area greater than 800 sq. feet, three to four gallons of paint will be needed, depending on the size of the room.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, paint comes in many different sizes that range from very small (quarter pint) to very large (five gallon). The smallest size paint is sold in is typically half-pint or quarter-pint. Paint samples are usually sold in quarter-pint and half-pint sizes though some samples may be larger.
There are a total of 7 common sizes paint is normally sold in. These include quarter-pint, half-pint, one pint, one quart, half-gallon, one gallon, and five gallon.
How much paint you need for a certain job depends on the total wall area you want to paint. As a general rule, one gallon of paint can cover up to 400 square feet of area.
Make sure to follow all my tips and recommended products to ensure your painted project turns out great! Also, don’t forget to check out my other articles for all your painting Q&A’s. Happy painting!