Guide

How Many Coats of Paint Do You Really Need?

How many coats of paint you need affects both the finish and how much paint you buy. Getting it wrong means either a patchy wall or a cupboard full of leftover tins. Here's how to judge it.

The usual answer is two

For most rooms, two coats of emulsion over a similar existing colour gives an even, durable finish. One coat almost always looks thin and shows roller marks or patches, especially in raking light from a window.

When you need three

Three coats — or two coats over a primer — are worth budgeting for when you're covering a much darker colour with a paler one, painting bare plaster, or using a strong colour like a deep red or yellow that has poor natural coverage. Bare plaster in particular needs a thinned "mist coat" first, which soaks in and seals the surface before your topcoats.

When one coat is genuinely enough

Touch-ups, or repainting in exactly the same colour with a good-quality paint, can sometimes be done in a single coat. Some premium "one-coat" paints live up to the name over sound, similar-coloured walls, though they cost more per litre.

How coats change what you buy

Every extra coat multiplies the paint you need. Two coats of a room needing 3 litres per coat means 6 litres, not 3. Our paint cost calculator lets you set the coat count so your order matches reality. Always keep a little spare for touch-ups after furniture goes back in.