Easy Epoxy Calc

How much epoxy to coat a 60 × 30 desk?

Short answer

A 60 × 30 in desk needs about 1.33 gallons of tabletop epoxy with a seal coat on bare closed-grain wood: 15.1 fluid ounces for the seal coat, then a 1/8 inch flood coat over 12.5 square feet with 18.8 fluid ounces of drips off the edges.

How to work it out

  1. Top: 60 in × 30 in = 1,800 sq in (12.5 sq ft)
  2. 12.5 sq ft × 1/8 in × 1 coat = 225 cu in = 0.97 gal
  3. Edge length: 2 × (length + width) = 180 in (15 ft)
  4. Drips: 15 ft × 1.25 fl oz/ft × 1 coat = 18.8 fl oz
  5. Film on the sides: 180 in × 1.5 in × 1/32 in × 1 coat = 4.68 fl oz
  6. (0.97 gal + 18.8 fl oz + 4.68 fl oz) × (1 + 5% bucket/other) = 1.21 gal
  7. Seal coat: (12.5 sq ft + 1.88 sq ft of sides (15 ft × 1.5 in)) × 1 fl oz/sq ft × 1.05 = 15.1 fl oz
  8. 1.21 gal + 15.1 fl oz seal = 1.33 gal → 2 × 1 gal kits
  9. Batches: 1.21 gal per coat ÷ 1 gal → 2 per coat, each A 1.21 qt (2.91 lb) + B 1.21 qt (2.41 lb)
  10. Mix ratio 1 : 1 by volume, SG A 1.15 / B 0.95 (typical, not published by the maker — type your data sheet’s SGs for exact weights) → Part A 0.67 gal (6.4 lb) + Part B 0.67 gal (5.28 lb)

A 60 × 30 in top is the classic 1-gallon trap: the flood coat alone is 0.97 gallons before a single drip, and about 18.8 fl oz runs off its 15 ft of edge, so one 1-gallon kit leaves you short — and a seal coat on bare wood needs more again. Plan on two 1-gallon kits (or one larger kit) and mix the seal coat as its own small batch.

Adjust for your project

in
Measure the top surface only — drips over the edges are covered by the extra allowance.
in
Measure the top surface only — drips over the edges are covered by the extra allowance.
Leave at 1/8 in unless your epoxy’s label says otherwise.
1 is normal. Use 2 for extra depth or to bury bottle caps or photos.
A thin first coat brushed or scraped into bare wood, so air in the grain doesn’t bubble up into the clear coat.
gal
Total of both bottles together. Most “1 gallon kits” are ½ gal resin + ½ gal hardener — enter 1. If the listing says 1 gal of EACH, enter 2.
More options: edges · edge · waste …
Most tops are poured so the epoxy runs over and coats the sides. A tape dam keeps it on the top only.
in
How tall the edge is — usually the thickness of the top.
%
Bucket and cup residue and other small losses. Edge drips are worked out separately from the edge length.
Fills in the mix ratio, weights and depth limits from the maker’s published data. Always check the data sheet that comes with your batch.
Only changes the Part A / Part B split — it’s printed on the kit. Tabletop and art resins are usually 1:1; deep pour often 2:1.
From the TDS, in g/ml. Leave blank for 1.15 (typical, not published by the maker).
From the TDS, in g/ml. Leave blank for 0.95 on 1:1 kits or 0.97 on other ratios (typical, not published by the maker).
gal
Resin + hardener mixed in one bucket. Big batches heat up and thicken sooner, so pros mix the next one while the last is being poured.
$
Optional — your kit price, for a cost estimate
Tabletop epoxy to buy1.33 gal5.33 qt · 5.05 L
Kits to buy
2 kits
Clear coat(s) on the top
0.97 gal (3.9 qt · 3.69 L)
Runs off the edges (drips)
18.8 fl oz (0.59 qt · 0.55 L)
Film left on the sides
4.68 fl oz (0.15 qt · 0.14 L)
Seal coat (mixed separately)
15.1 fl oz (0.47 qt · 0.45 L)
Surface area
12.5 sq ft
Batches to mix (clear coats)
2 batches
Per batch (volume, then weight)
A 1.21 qt (2.91 lb) + B 1.21 qt (2.41 lb)
When mixing — Part A (resin)
0.67 gal (2.67 qt · 2.52 L)
When mixing — Part B (hardener)
0.67 gal (2.67 qt · 2.52 L)
Part A by weight
6.4 lb (102 oz · 2.9 kg)
Part B by weight
5.28 lb (84.5 oz · 2.4 kg)
Left over from the last kit
0.67 gal (2.67 qt · 2.53 L)
  • What to buy: 2 × 1 gal tabletop epoxy kits. Each kit has both bottles (resin + hardener) — you don’t buy them separately. Looking at a different kit size? Change Kit size above.
  • Mix the seal coat (15.1 fl oz) as its own small batch, brush or scrape it into the grain, and pour the clear coat inside the label’s recoat window.
  • Each coat is 2 batches. Mix the next one while the last is being spread and pour them back to back, so the wet edges merge before they start to thicken.

For this job · affiliate link
Tabletop / bar top epoxy kitYou need 1.33 gal; 2 × 1 gal kits leaves 0.67 gal over, so topping up with a smaller kit may be cheaper — compare kit sizes. Self-leveling tabletop epoxy is made for 1/8 in coats; a deep-pour resin would run off the edges for days.
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Epoxy by coat thickness (starting from a 60 × 30 in desk, seal coat included)

Epoxy by coat thickness (starting from a 60 × 30 in desk, seal coat included)
Coat thicknessTabletop epoxy to buyKits to buyLeft over from the last kit
1/16 in0.74 gal1 kit0.26 gal
1/8 in1.33 gal2 kits0.67 gal
3/16 in1.92 gal2 kits10.1 fl oz
1/4 in2.51 gal3 kits0.49 gal

What to know about a 60 × 30 desk

Sixty by thirty inches is the standard office-desk top, and it is exactly where one gallon stops being enough. Many desk tops are maple butcher block, which is closed-grained, so this example uses the 1 fl oz per sq ft seal rate. Two 1-gallon kits cover the seal coat and the flood coat with about 0.67 gallons left — a useful reserve if the wood drinks more than expected, or most of a second coat on a small side table. An oak or walnut desk needs the open-grain rate: 1.45 gallons in all, still two kits.

Desks have holes. Grommets, cable cut-outs and pre-drilled holes for a monitor arm all need plugging from underneath with tape or a foam plug before the seal coat, or the epoxy drains through and leaves a dimple around each one. If you use a clamp-on monitor arm, keep the back edge free of drips: a cured drip under the lip stops the clamp sitting flat.

A desk also takes more wear than a dining table — elbows, a mouse, a keyboard dragged back and forth. Cured epoxy is hard but it does scratch, so a desk mat under the mouse is worth having. Give the coat the full cure the label asks for before a heavy monitor stand goes on it; TotalBoat, for one, gives 5–7 days for a full cure of its TableTop epoxy.

Smaller tops: How much epoxy for a 48 x 24 coffee table. For a workbench-sized top, see How much epoxy for a 4x8 table top.

Different size? Use the full Tabletop Epoxy Calculator.

What you’ll need

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Frequently asked questions

How much epoxy for a 60 x 30 desk that is already sealed?

About 1.21 gallons for the 1/8 inch flood coat alone — still 2 kits of 1 gallon, because the coat plus drips comes to just over a gallon.

How much epoxy for a 72 x 30 desk?

About 1.59 gallons with a closed-grain seal coat (18 fluid ounces of that is the seal coat) — 2 kits of 1 gallon.

How much epoxy for a 60 x 30 desk with two flood coats?

About 2.55 gallons including the seal coat — 3 kits of 1 gallon.

Other common sizes

Sources