Street Art Spray Area Calculator

Spray Cans for Street Art Murals

Most graffiti and mural artists plan on 1 to 2 cans of 400 mL per square meter. How much you actually burn through depends on coverage, how many layers you stack, and how many colors are in play. A workable rule of thumb is cans = area × colors × 0.3, rounded up. A big piece full of fades and tight outlines will eat more than that; a flat fill done with high-opacity caps will come in under it.

Pro low-pressure brands like Belton Molotow Premium, Montana Black/Gold, MTN 94/Hardcore and Mokum-Berlin come in hundreds of pre-mixed colors, and their swappable caps (skinny, fat, calligraphy, super fat) change the line width far more than you'd expect. If you just need to lay down a background in 6–8 basic colors, the cheaper hardware-store cans (jacaré / Tekbond style) do the job fine.

Applications

Think authorized murals, live painting at festivals, commissioned shop fronts, skate park art, plus urban art programs like Galeria Urbana in Rio de Janeiro and the muralist permits that São Paulo’s city hall hands out. Check the local rules before you start. Unauthorized tagging counts as vandalism under Brazilian environmental and criminal law.

FAQ

How many cans cover a 20 m² wall? Somewhere between 20 and 40, depending on how many colors you run and how much you fade and outline. A flat 6-color mural lands around 30 cans of 400 mL.

What is the difference between low and high pressure? Low pressure (Montana Black, MTN 94) gives you thin, precise lines with no splatter. High pressure (MTN Hardcore) covers a lot of wall fast, but good luck keeping it under control on fine detail.

Which caps should I buy? A skinny cap (NY fat thin) to start, a soft fat cap (pink dot) for your fills, and a calligraphy cap. The cap you pick swings the spray width more than the brand on the can does.