Easy Epoxy Calc

How much epoxy to flood coat a 6 ft dining table?

Short answer

A 6 ft (72 × 36 in) dining table needs about 1.7 gallons of tabletop epoxy for one 1/8 inch flood coat — 18 square feet of top, plus 22.5 fluid ounces that runs off the 18 ft of edge and 5% for what stays in the bucket.

How to work it out

  1. Top: 72 in × 36 in = 2,592 sq in (18 sq ft)
  2. 18 sq ft × 1/8 in × 1 coat = 324 cu in = 1.4 gal
  3. Edge length: 2 × (length + width) = 216 in (18 ft)
  4. Drips: 18 ft × 1.25 fl oz/ft × 1 coat = 22.5 fl oz
  5. Film on the sides: 216 in × 1.5 in × 1/32 in × 1 coat = 5.61 fl oz
  6. (1.4 gal + 22.5 fl oz + 5.61 fl oz) × (1 + 5% bucket/other) = 1.7 gal
  7. Total: 1.7 gal → 2 × 1 gal kits
  8. Batches: 1.7 gal per coat ÷ 1 gal → 2 per coat, each A 1.7 qt (4.09 lb) + B 1.7 qt (3.38 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 0.85 gal (8.17 lb) + Part B 0.85 gal (6.75 lb)

A 72 × 36 in top is 18 sq ft — well past the 12.8 sq ft a gallon covers at 1/8 in. Two 1-gallon kits handle the flood coat with about 0.3 gallons to spare, which is not quite enough for an open-grain seal coat (0.33 gallons on bare oak or walnut), so sealing first means a third kit.

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 buy1.7 gal6.81 qt · 6.45 L
Kits to buy
2 kits
Clear coat(s) on the top
1.4 gal (5.61 qt · 5.31 L)
Runs off the edges (drips)
22.5 fl oz (0.7 qt · 0.67 L)
Film left on the sides
5.61 fl oz (0.18 qt · 0.17 L)
Surface area
18 sq ft
Batches to mix (clear coats)
2 batches
Per batch (volume, then weight)
A 1.7 qt (4.09 lb) + B 1.7 qt (3.38 lb)
When mixing — Part A (resin)
0.85 gal (3.41 qt · 3.22 L)
When mixing — Part B (hardener)
0.85 gal (3.41 qt · 3.22 L)
Part A by weight
8.17 lb (131 oz · 3.71 kg)
Part B by weight
6.75 lb (108 oz · 3.06 kg)
Left over from the last kit
0.3 gal (1.19 qt · 1.12 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.
  • Pouring onto bare wood? Pick a seal coat above — it stops air in the grain bubbling up into the clear coat.
  • 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 1.7 gal, so 2 × 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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Epoxy by table width (starting from 72 in long)

Epoxy by table width (starting from 72 in long)
WidthSurface areaTabletop epoxy to buyKits to buy
30 in15 sq ft1.45 gal2 kits
36 in18 sq ft1.7 gal2 kits
40 in20 sq ft1.88 gal2 kits
42 in21 sq ft1.96 gal2 kits
48 in24 sq ft2.22 gal3 kits

What to know about a 6 ft dining table

Six feet by three is the usual size for a table that seats six, and it sits right on a kit boundary. The flood coat alone is 1.7 gallons; add an open-grain seal coat for bare oak or walnut and it becomes 2.04 gallons — a hair over a 2-gallon kit. If you’re sealing first, buy a little more than the kit, or choose the closed-grain rate only if the wood really is tight-grained, such as maple or cherry.

Extension tables need a decision before you mix anything. If the top takes leaves, coat each leaf and each half separately with the leaves out, and tape the meeting edges. A flood coat poured across the joint glues the table shut, and cutting it apart later chips the edge. Each separate piece also adds edge, and edge is where the drips come from, so enter the pieces one at a time.

At this volume you are past what one person can comfortably spread from one bucket. TotalBoat quotes about 40 minutes of working time at 70°F for its TableTop epoxy, and a big mass sitting in a bucket thickens sooner than a thin film. With 1-gallon batches the calculator splits the coat into two; start mixing the second once the first is on the table, and work along the length so the wet edges meet in the middle.

Tape the underside of the edge too: drips that cure on the apron are the slowest part of the cleanup. Open-grain boards that need a heavier seal coat are covered on How much epoxy for a seal coat on a 6 ft slab, and a metric top of roughly the same size on How much epoxy for a 200 x 100 cm 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 6 ft dining table with a seal coat first?

About 2.04 gallons in all on open-grained wood such as oak or walnut: 0.33 gallons for the seal coat and the rest for the flood coat and drips — 3 kits of 1 gallon.

How much epoxy for two flood coats on a 6 ft dining table?

About 3.41 gallons for two 1/8 inch coats — 4 kits of 1 gallon, with the second coat poured inside the label’s recoat window.

How much epoxy for a 72 x 40 inch dining table?

About 1.88 gallons for a 1/8 inch flood coat on 20 square feet — 2 kits of 1 gallon, with 15.9 fluid ounces left over.

Other common sizes

Sources