Paint is sold by the tin and used by the square metre. Those are two different units, and the gap between them is where people lose money without noticing.
What you are actually buying
A tin of paint is pigment, binder, solvent and filler. The pigment hides what is underneath. The binder is what holds the film together and lets it survive washing and weather. Filler is the cheap part.
Two tins can weigh the same and cost differently because one has more pigment and binder and the other has more filler. The cheaper tin is not necessarily a worse buy — but it usually needs more coats, and coats cost labour as well as paint.
The calculation that matters
Ask two questions before you compare prices: how many square metres does one litre cover per coat, and how many coats will this colour change need?
Take two hypothetical tins. Tin A is 15 per cent cheaper than Tin B. But Tin A covers 20 per cent less area per litre, and on a dark-to-light colour change it needs three coats where Tin B needs two.
Tin A effectively costs more per square metre, and it costs a third again in labour, because labour scales with coats. The tin that was cheaper at the counter is the more expensive job.
Where the real cost sits
On a typical interior repaint, paint is rarely the largest line. Preparation and labour are. Skimming, filling, sanding, priming and cutting in take longer than rolling the walls, and they are charged by the day or the square metre.
That is why a paint that saves one coat is worth paying more for. One coat fewer across a three-bedroom flat is not a small saving in labour.
How to compare properly
- Get the coverage figure from the technical data sheet, not the front of the tin. If a supplier cannot give you one, that tells you something
- Work out litres needed for your actual wall area and coat count
- Price the litres, not the tins. A 20 litre tin and five 4 litre tins are the same quantity at different prices
- Add the coats to the labour estimate before you decide
- Add primer and filler. They are part of the job, not an optional extra
What cheap paint costs you later
The failure modes are predictable: it chalks, so the wall rubs off on your hand; it covers thinly, so the old colour shows through in raking light; and it does not survive washing, so kitchen and hallway walls go shiny and patchy within a couple of years.
None of that is a reason to buy the most expensive tin on the shelf. It is a reason to compare on coverage and coats rather than on the price of the tin.
Asking for a comparison
Send us the wall area and the colour change you are making, and we will tell you the litres, the coats and which product line fits the budget. Call +234 802 562 5333, message WhatsApp, or send your project details.
The range runs from Prestige Standard Emulsion for volume work, through Prestige Facelift Premium, to Prestige Matt Finish and Prestige Satin Finish.