Three numbers give you the answer: which ladder your color is on, which step you want, and how much cementitious material is in the mix. After that it is one multiplication. The thing that catches people out is the first number — Carbon Black 102 and Blue 201 run a different ladder from the other five colors, so the same step means a different dose depending on the color.
Step 1 — find your color’s ladder
- Standard ladder — 1, 3, 5 or 7 lb of paste per 94 lb sack. Red 101, Yellow 119, Chromium Green 204, White 205, Charcoal 206.
- Lower ladder — 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2 lb per sack. Carbon Black 102 and Blue 201. These two reach full color at roughly a third of the dose, so the standard ladder overshoots them.
As a percentage of cementitious weight the standard steps are 1.1%, 3.2%, 5.3% and 7.4%; the lower steps are 0.5%, 1.1%, 1.6% and 2.1%. The maximum for any color is the top of its own ladder — there is no single ceiling for the line, and the 10% pigment limit that governs powder pigment does not carry across, because a paste dose is not a pigment loading.
Step 2 — get the cementitious weight
Dose is calculated on the weight of cementitious material — cement plus any supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash or slag. It is never calculated on the weight of the total concrete, and never on the volume of the pour. What you want from the supplier is the sack count, or the pounds of cementitious material per cubic yard. A standard five-sack yard is 470 lb, which is five 94 lb sacks.
Step 3 — the arithmetic
Pounds of paste = dose per sack × number of sacks. That is the whole calculation. Three worked examples:
- White 205, step 3, twelve sacks. 205 is on the standard ladder, so step 3 is 5 lb per sack. 5 × 12 = 60 lb of paste — two 44 lb pails, since 44 is not enough.
- Carbon Black 102, top step, one five-sack yard. 102 is on the lower ladder, so its top step is 2 lb per sack. 2 × 5 = 10 lb of paste for the yard. Dosed on the standard ladder by mistake it would have been 35 lb — three and a half times the recommended maximum for that color.
- Red 101, step 2, three five-sack yards. Three yards is fifteen sacks, and step 2 on the standard ladder is 3 lb per sack. 3 × 15 = 45 lb of paste — one 44 lb pail is a pound short, so this is a 44 lb pail plus a 2 lb pack.
What a pack covers
Sacks = pack weight ÷ dose. Cubic yards = sacks ÷ the sacks in your mix. The yardage column below assumes a five-sack yard.
| Ladder and dose, per 94 lb sack | 44 lb pack covers | 44 lb pack, five-sack yards |
|---|---|---|
| Standard — 1 lb | 44 sacks | 8.8 yards |
| Standard — 3 lb | 14.7 sacks | 2.9 yards |
| Standard — 5 lb | 8.8 sacks | 1.8 yards |
| Standard — 7 lb | 6.3 sacks | 1.3 yards |
| Lower — 0.5 lb | 88 sacks | 17.6 yards |
| Lower — 1 lb | 44 sacks | 8.8 yards |
| Lower — 1.5 lb | 29.3 sacks | 5.9 yards |
| Lower — 2 lb | 22 sacks | 4.4 yards |
- Standard, 1 lb per sack — a 44 lb pack covers 44 sacks, or 8.8 five-sack yards
- Standard, 3 lb per sack — 14.7 sacks, or 2.9 yards
- Standard, 5 lb per sack — 8.8 sacks, or 1.8 yards
- Standard, 7 lb per sack — 6.3 sacks, or 1.3 yards
- Lower, 0.5 lb per sack — 88 sacks, or 17.6 yards
- Lower, 1 lb per sack — 44 sacks, or 8.8 yards
- Lower, 1.5 lb per sack — 29.3 sacks, or 5.9 yards
- Lower, 2 lb per sack — 22 sacks, or 4.4 yards
The 2 lb pack is a trial-batch and test-panel size. It reaches a whole sack only at the lower doses — four sacks at 0.5 lb, two sacks at 1 lb, one sack at 2 lb. At the higher steps a 2 lb pack does not cover a full sack, which is why no figure is quoted for it there. Paste is sold in 2 lb and 44 lb net weights; above 44 lb is quoted individually with freight.
If the mix is not five sacks a yard
Then only the yardage column changes. Work from the actual number of 94 lb sacks in the mix and ignore the per-cubic-yard figures entirely. A six-sack yard has more cement in it, so it takes more paste per yard at the same step, and a pack covers fewer yards — not more.
Before you order
Two things worth settling first. Gray Portland cement mutes every color, so the same code at the same step reads differently on white cement — and White 205 is the special case, because it has to overcome the gray rather than tint it. Discuss 205 with Direct Colors before committing a dose. Then approve the color from a cured panel made with the job’s own materials, not from a chart: see how to make and approve a test panel. Buy the whole job’s pigment at once where the color has to match across deliveries.
Common questions
How much liquid pigment do I need for one cubic yard?
On a standard five-sack yard, which is 470 lb of cementitious material, the standard ladder works out to 5, 15, 25 or 35 lb of paste per cubic yard, and the lower ladder used by Carbon Black 102 and Blue 201 works out to 2.5, 5, 7.5 or 10 lb. Multiply the per-sack dose by the number of sacks in your mix; if it is not a five-sack design, use its actual sack count rather than the yardage.
How many sacks will a 44 lb pail cover?
Divide 44 by the dose. At 1 lb per sack that is 44 sacks, at 3 lb it is about 14.7, at 5 lb about 8.8 and at 7 lb about 6.3. On the lower ladder, 0.5 lb per sack gives 88 sacks and 2 lb per sack gives 22.
Is the dose pounds of pigment or pounds of paste?
Pounds of paste. Paste is part pigment and part carrier, so a paste dose is not a pigment loading, and no solids content is published for the line. That is also why the 10 percent pigment ceiling that applies to the powder does not apply here.
What is the maximum dose?
The top of the ladder for the color you are using. There is no single maximum for the liquid line. That is 7 lb of paste per 94 lb sack for Red 101, Yellow 119, Chromium Green 204, White 205 and Charcoal 206, and 2 lb per sack for Carbon Black 102 and Blue 201. Above the top step there is no recommendation, so call 405-275-6657 before going higher.
Can I use the pigment calculator for liquid pigment?
No. The calculator on the site is built for the powder line and its dose steps, and the two products are not interchangeable. Work the liquid quantities from the ladders and the arithmetic on this page.
My mix is not five sacks per yard. What changes?
Only the yardage column. Dose is calculated on cementitious weight, so work from the actual number of 94 lb sacks in the mix and ignore the per-cubic-yard figures. A six-sack yard needs more paste per yard than a five-sack yard at the same step, not less.
What’s Next
- Weight, not volume → Should Liquid Pigment Be Measured by Weight or Volume?
- Which black → Carbon Black 102 vs Charcoal 206
- Production batching → Weighing vs Pumping Liquid Pigment
- Paste and water → Does Liquid Pigment Change the Water-Cement Ratio?
- Working out quantities → How Much Concrete Pigment Powder per Cement Sack or Bag?
- Mixing it → How to Use Liquid Concrete Pigment
- Approve the color first → How to Make and Approve a Concrete Pigment Test Panel
- The powder line → How to Mix Concrete Pigment Powder Without Streaks
- Ready-mix quantities in powder → How Much Pigment for a Concrete Truck Pour
- The fundamentals → Integral Color Concrete
- Shop → ColorBlast Pro™ Pigment Paste · questions on 405-275-6657
Direct Colors. Shawnee, OK. Manufacturing the full decorative concrete system since 1997.
