Price per kilogram tells you almost nothing. What a shade actually costs you depends on how far a kilogram goes — and that is decided by specific gravity, film thickness and how much powder reaches the part.
Typically 1.2–1.8. Higher filler loading raises it. Take the figure from the shade’s datasheet — it is the single most under-read number on the sheet.
Oracle hybrids and polyesters are specified at 60–80 µm; Pure Epoxy at 80–120 µm. Use the thickness you actually achieve, not the minimum you specify.
Overspray that cannot be reclaimed is powder you paid for and threw away. This is usually the biggest single lever on real cost.
Use your quoted rate, excluding GST and freight, so comparisons stay like for like.
Leave at zero if you only want the per-square-metre figures.
Theoretical coverage
11.1 m²/kg
100% transfer, perfectly uniform film. Nobody achieves this.
Practical coverage
10.0 m²/kg
What you should plan and cost against.
Powder cost only. Pre-treatment chemicals, energy, labour, rework and rejects are not included, and on most lines they add up to more than the powder does.
Enter a second supplier’s figures. The cheaper kilogram is frequently the more expensive square metre — a high-filler powder has a higher specific gravity, so a kilogram covers less area.
Their cost/m²₹20.00
Theoretical coverage in square metres per kilogram is 1000 ÷ (specific gravity × film thickness in microns). A powder with a specific gravity of 1.5 laid down at 60 µm gives 1000 ÷ (1.5 × 60) = 11.1 m²/kg. That figure assumes every particle lands on the part and the film is perfectly even, so it is a ceiling, not a plan.
Practical coverage is theoretical coverage multiplied by transfer efficiency. Cost per square metre is then simply your price per kilogram divided by practical coverage. Three inputs decide the answer, and only one of them is the price.
Filler is cheaper than resin and pigment. Loading a formulation with extender raises specific gravity, which lowers the area a kilogram covers. A powder quoted at ₹175/kg with a specific gravity of 1.7 covers 9.8 m²/kg at 60 µm; one at ₹200/kg with a specific gravity of 1.5 covers 11.1 m²/kg. Before transfer efficiency is even considered, the “expensive” powder is the cheaper one per square metre.
High filler loading also tends to cost you elsewhere — poorer flow, weaker mechanical properties, duller finish, and often a heavier film needed to achieve opacity. None of that shows up in a rate comparison.
On published price ranges
Public per-kilogram prices for powder coating powder in India are not reliable. Marketplace listings are seller-set anchors with no verified transaction behind them, they are inconsistent about GST, minimum quantity and freight, and products with identical names differ enormously in resin, pigment and filler content. There is no audited Indian price index for powder that we are aware of. Treat any quoted range — including ranges you see on marketplaces — as an indication of what sellers ask, not of what material is worth.