Why does all-in cost per square foot fall as area rises?

The pretreatment, masking and setup charge is fixed per batch, so a larger area spreads it across more square feet. Captured coating cost per foot does not change with area; only the fixed part thins out.

What is the difference between captured and total coating cost?

Captured cost is the applied material and labor the coverage share carries. Total adds pretreatment, masking and setup, and the all-in row divides that total by area.

Which coating cost belongs in the per-square-foot field?

The all-in applied rate from the coating quote, including material and application labor for a typical coated square foot. If the quote mixes rates by coat, use a weighted average.

Does the coating target use the same basis as the result?

Enter the target as an all-in cost per square foot, the same basis as the all-in row. Comparing a target that excludes setup with an all-in result overstates the variance.

Agricultural Equipment & Farm Machinery Manufacturing calculator

Outdoor Corrosion Coating Cost Calculator

Price the corrosion coating on an outdoor machine or attachment from its coated area, applied cost and coverage share, plus pretreatment and masking. The all-in cost per square foot shows whether the batch meets the quoting target.

What this calculator does

All-in corrosion coating cost for a batch and the cost per square foot against a quoting target.

Formula used

Captured coating cost = area × coating cost per square foot × coverage share ÷ 100
Total coating cost = captured coating cost + pretreatment, masking and setup
All-in cost per square foot = total coating cost ÷ area
Target total = target cost per square foot × area; variance = total − target total

Inputs explained

Coated Surface Area: Surface area to be coated, from the coating drawing.
Coating Cost per Square Foot: Applied coating cost per square foot, from the coating quote.
Required Coating Coverage Share: Share of the surface the coating must cover, from the spec.
Pretreatment, Masking, and Setup: Pretreatment, masking and setup cost per batch, from the job ticket.
Target Cost per Square Foot: All-in coating cost target per square foot, from the price sheet.

How to use the result

Best suited to quoting an outdoor implement coating batch, comparing coating cost per square foot.
Jobs mixing thin topcoat areas with heavy multi-coat zones need splitting or a weighted rate. It excludes racking, oven curing energy and coating line labor beyond the applied rate.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Industrial natural gas averages $4.58 per Mcf (EIA, Jul 2026), down 1.3% from a year earlier, with industrial electricity at 9.77 cents per kWh. Process heating and refrigeration budgets track both.
Steel mill PPI stands at 381.162 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 23.4% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 8.5% year over year (Census).
The U.S. has 21,668 machinery manufacturing establishments employing about 1,086,146 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

Why does all-in cost per square foot fall as area rises? The pretreatment, masking and setup charge is fixed per batch, so a larger area spreads it across more square feet. Captured coating cost per foot does not change with area; only the fixed part thins out.
What is the difference between captured and total coating cost? Captured cost is the applied material and labor the coverage share carries. Total adds pretreatment, masking and setup, and the all-in row divides that total by area.
Which coating cost belongs in the per-square-foot field? The all-in applied rate from the coating quote, including material and application labor for a typical coated square foot. If the quote mixes rates by coat, use a weighted average.
Does the coating target use the same basis as the result? Enter the target as an all-in cost per square foot, the same basis as the all-in row. Comparing a target that excludes setup with an all-in result overstates the variance.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.