Easy Epoxy Calc

How much epoxy to flood coat an 8 ft table?

Short answer

An 8 ft (96 × 42 in) table needs about 2.59 gallons of tabletop epoxy for one 1/8 inch flood coat over 28 square feet, including 28.8 fluid ounces of drips off the 23 ft of edge and 5% for the bucket.

How to work it out

  1. Top: 96 in × 42 in = 4,032 sq in (28 sq ft)
  2. 28 sq ft × 1/8 in × 1 coat = 504 cu in = 2.18 gal
  3. Edge length: 2 × (length + width) = 276 in (23 ft)
  4. Drips: 23 ft × 1.25 fl oz/ft × 1 coat = 28.8 fl oz
  5. Film on the sides: 276 in × 1.5 in × 1/32 in × 1 coat = 7.17 fl oz
  6. (2.18 gal + 28.8 fl oz + 7.17 fl oz) × (1 + 5% bucket/other) = 2.59 gal
  7. Total: 2.59 gal → 3 × 1 gal kits
  8. Batches: 2.59 gal per coat ÷ 1 gal → 3 per coat, each A 1.72 qt (4.14 lb) + B 1.72 qt (3.42 lb)
  9. 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 1.29 gal (12.4 lb) + Part B 1.29 gal (10.2 lb)

On a 28 sq ft top, working time becomes the limit rather than volume. Mix three batches back to back and pour them in sequence so the wet edges blend, rather than one bucket you can’t spread before it starts to thicken.

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 buy2.59 gal10.3 qt · 9.79 L
Kits to buy
3 kits
Clear coat(s) on the top
2.18 gal (8.73 qt · 8.26 L)
Runs off the edges (drips)
28.8 fl oz (0.9 qt · 0.85 L)
Film left on the sides
7.17 fl oz (0.22 qt · 0.21 L)
Surface area
28 sq ft
Batches to mix (clear coats)
3 batches
Per batch (volume, then weight)
A 1.72 qt (4.14 lb) + B 1.72 qt (3.42 lb)
When mixing — Part A (resin)
1.29 gal (5.17 qt · 4.89 L)
When mixing — Part B (hardener)
1.29 gal (5.17 qt · 4.89 L)
Part A by weight
12.4 lb (199 oz · 5.63 kg)
Part B by weight
10.2 lb (164 oz · 4.65 kg)
Left over from the last kit
0.41 gal (1.66 qt · 1.57 L)
  • What to buy: 3 × 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.
  • Pouring onto bare wood? Pick a seal coat above — it stops air in the grain bubbling up into the clear coat.
  • Each coat is 3 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 2.59 gal, so 3 × 1 gal kits — or price one bigger kit, which is often cheaper per gallon. 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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Kits by kit size (starting from a 96 × 42 in table)

Kits by kit size (starting from a 96 × 42 in table)
Kit sizeTabletop epoxy to buyKits to buyLeft over from the last kit
0.5 gal2.59 gal6 kits0.41 gal
1 gal2.59 gal3 kits0.41 gal
2 gal2.59 gal2 kits1.41 gal
4 gal2.59 gal1 kit1.41 gal

What to know about an 8 ft table

Ninety-six by forty-two inches is a typical farmhouse or small conference table, usually seating eight. Three 1-gallon kits cover the 2.59 gallons with about 0.41 gallons spare; a 2-gallon kit plus a 1-gallon kit gives the same total. An open-grain seal coat on bare boards brings the job to 3.09 gallons, so a fourth gallon.

Treat this as a two-person pour. One person mixes the next batch while the other spreads, and each batch goes down against the wet edge of the last. Epoxyworks suggests pre-measuring the resin and hardener for every batch before you start, so nobody is reading bottle lines while the first batch is thickening. Work from one end to the other along the length.

Check the construction before you commit. Many farmhouse tops have breadboard ends — a cross-grain board fixed so the main top can swell and shrink with the seasons. A rigid flood coat bridging that joint can crack along it, so consider stopping the pour at the joint or choosing a different finish. Tops glued up from wide boards should be flat and dry before coating; boards that cup afterwards show as waves in the gloss.

Close relatives: How much epoxy for a 4x8 table top (6 in wider) and, in metric, How much epoxy for a 200 x 100 cm table. Rough slab rather than planed boards? Start with How much epoxy for a seal coat on a 6 ft slab.

Different size? Use the full Tabletop Epoxy Calculator.

What you’ll need

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Frequently asked questions

How much epoxy for a 96 x 36 inch table?

About 2.25 gallons for a 1/8 inch flood coat on 24 square feet — 3 kits of 1 gallon.

How much epoxy for an 8 ft table with a seal coat first?

About 3.09 gallons on open-grained boards: 0.51 gallons for the seal coat and the rest for the flood coat and drips — 4 kits of 1 gallon.

How many 2-gallon kits for an 8 ft table flood coat?

2 kits of 2 gallons for about 2.59 gallons, leaving 1.41 gallons — enough for a seal coat first. Without one, a 2-gallon kit plus a 1-gallon kit wastes less.

Other common sizes

Sources