Easy Epoxy Calc

How much epoxy to flood coat a 48 × 24 coffee table?

Short answer

A 48 × 24 in coffee table needs about 0.81 gallons of tabletop epoxy for one 1/8 inch flood coat over 8 square feet, including 15 fluid ounces of drips off the edges — one 1-gallon kit covers it.

How to work it out

  1. Top: 48 in × 24 in = 1,152 sq in (8 sq ft)
  2. 8 sq ft × 1/8 in × 1 coat = 144 cu in = 0.62 gal
  3. Edge length: 2 × (length + width) = 144 in (12 ft)
  4. Drips: 12 ft × 1.25 fl oz/ft × 1 coat = 15 fl oz
  5. Film on the sides: 144 in × 1.5 in × 1/32 in × 1 coat = 3.74 fl oz
  6. (0.62 gal + 15 fl oz + 3.74 fl oz) × (1 + 5% bucket/other) = 0.81 gal
  7. Total: 0.81 gal → 1 × 1 gal kit
  8. Batches: 0.81 gal per coat ÷ 1 gal → 1 per coat, each A 1.62 qt (3.88 lb) + B 1.62 qt (3.2 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 0.4 gal (3.88 lb) + Part B 0.4 gal (3.2 lb)

At 8 sq ft, a coffee table fits inside a 1-gallon kit with about 24.5 fl oz (three-quarters of a quart) to spare — enough for a closed-grain seal coat first. Small tops lose a bigger share to edge drips: about 15 fl oz runs off this one’s 12 ft of edge, against 0.62 gallons on the top itself.

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 buy0.81 gal3.23 qt · 3.06 L
Kits to buy
1 kit
Clear coat(s) on the top
0.62 gal (2.49 qt · 2.36 L)
Runs off the edges (drips)
15 fl oz (0.47 qt · 0.44 L)
Film left on the sides
3.74 fl oz (0.12 qt · 0.11 L)
Surface area
8 sq ft
Batches to mix (clear coats)
1 batch
Per batch (volume, then weight)
A 1.62 qt (3.88 lb) + B 1.62 qt (3.2 lb)
When mixing — Part A (resin)
0.4 gal (1.62 qt · 1.53 L)
When mixing — Part B (hardener)
0.4 gal (1.62 qt · 1.53 L)
Part A by weight
3.88 lb (62.1 oz · 1.76 kg)
Part B by weight
3.2 lb (51.3 oz · 1.45 kg)
Left over from the last kit
24.5 fl oz (0.77 qt · 0.73 L)
  • What to buy: 1 × 1 gal tabletop epoxy kit. 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.

For this job · affiliate link
Tabletop / bar top epoxy kitOne 1 gal kit covers the 0.81 gal with 24.5 fl oz to spare. 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 number of flood coats (starting from 48 × 24 in)

Epoxy by number of flood coats (starting from 48 × 24 in)
Flood coatsTabletop epoxy to buyKits to buyLeft over from the last kit
10.81 gal1 kit24.5 fl oz
21.62 gal2 kits0.38 gal
32.42 gal3 kits0.58 gal

What to know about a 48 × 24 coffee table

Four feet by two is a common coffee-table footprint, and it is the size where one 1-gallon kit works with a margin: 0.81 gallons for the flood coat, or 0.89 gallons with a closed-grain seal coat on bare wood. That margin is thin, so measure Part A and Part B carefully instead of eyeballing the last of each bottle — an off-ratio batch is a common reason a coat stays soft. Open-grained oak or ash drinks about twice as much seal coat, which still fits, but only just.

Coffee tables are where people embed things: coins, bottle caps, pressed flowers, photos. Light objects float up through a wet flood coat, so glue them down, or tack them in place with a thin first pour and let it firm up before the main coat. Anything with some height, such as a bottle cap, may need two or three 1/8 in coats to bury completely — the table above shows how the volume climbs.

The edge ratio matters too. This top has 12 feet of edge for only 8 sq ft of surface, so almost a quarter of the pour ends up on the sides or the drop sheet — a bigger share than on a dining top. If there is a lower shelf, cover it with plastic before you start; drips will find it.

Round coffee tables are usually smaller in area than they look — see How much epoxy for a 36 inch round table. For the next size up, see How much epoxy for a 60 x 30 desk; a full dining top is on How much epoxy for a 6 ft dining table.

Different size? Use the full Tabletop Epoxy Calculator.

What you’ll need

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Frequently asked questions

How much epoxy for a 48 x 24 coffee table with a seal coat?

About 0.89 gallons on closed-grained wood — 9.98 fluid ounces for the seal coat and the rest for the flood coat and drips. That is still 1 kit of 1 gallon, with 14.6 fluid ounces left over.

How much epoxy for two coats on a 48 x 24 coffee table?

About 1.62 gallons for two 1/8 inch flood coats — 2 kits of 1 gallon.

How many 2-quart epoxy kits for a 48 x 24 coffee table?

2 kits of 2 quarts (half a gallon each). The flood coat needs about 0.81 gallons, which leaves 24.5 fluid ounces over.

Other common sizes

Sources