Finishing worked example

Paint and Coating Cost Per Part at 47% transfer efficiency: a worked example

Suppose transfer efficiency falls to 47%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate liquid coating cost per part from surface area, theoretical coverage, price, coats, transfer efficiency, and purge waste.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Coated surface area per part: 4.5 ft² (held at the documented default)
  • Theoretical coating coverage: 500 ft² / gal (held at the documented default)
  • Coating price: 92 $ / gal (held at the documented default)
  • Transfer efficiency: 47 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 65)
  • Coats applied: 1 coats (held at the documented default)
  • Mixing, purge, and touch-up waste: 8 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Effective coverage = theoretical coverage × transfer efficiency.
  • Coating cost works out to 1.9 $ / part at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gallons per part works out to 0.02 gal at these inputs.
  • Effective coverage works out to 235 ft² / gal at these inputs.
  • Cost per 1,000 parts works out to 1,903 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where transfer efficiency sits at 65% and the headline result is 1.38 $ / part, this scenario comes in 38.3% above the baseline at 1.9 $ / part.
  • It computes the material-only coating cost to apply a given number of coats to one part, after derating theoretical coverage for transfer efficiency and adding a waste allowance. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Coating cost: 1.9 $ / part (headline result)
  • Gallons per part: 0.02 gal
  • Effective coverage: 235 ft² / gal
  • Cost per 1,000 parts: 1,903 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Paint and Coating Cost Per Part calculator, set transfer efficiency to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.