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Bitumen paint buying guide

Updated: 21 October 2026

You are looking at a shed, a few posts, or a chassis, and amazon.co.uk is mixing black tins with roof seals and interior damp paint. A bitumen paint buying guide for this set confirms the tin is solvent-based bitumen paint, then picks a size from coverage and price per litre. The six listings on the [Bitumen paint](/hub/flooring-tools-and-accessories/bitumen-paint) comparison were priced on 19 October 2026. Peter F. read those listings and the makers' UK sheets, not a lab. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Who each badge is for is on [best bitumen paint](/hub/flooring-tools-and-accessories/bitumen-paint/sub/bitumen-paint-best). Lookalikes are on [bitumen paint or a roof coating](/hub/flooring-tools-and-accessories/bitumen-paint/sub/bitumen-paint-or-roof-coating).

You are looking at a shed, a few posts, or a chassis, and amazon.co.uk is mixing black tins with roof seals and interior damp paint.

Our top picks

Bartoline Bartoline Bitcote 5 litre

Best overall

Bartoline Bartoline Bitcote 5 litre
8.7/10about £28.50
View offer
Sika Sika Black Jack 901, 2.5 litre

Best value

Sika Sika Black Jack 901, 2.5 litre
7.3/10about £22.14
View offer
Bird Brand Bird Brand black bitumen paint, 1 litre

Alternative

Bird Brand Bird Brand black bitumen paint, 1 litre
5.3/10about £14.79
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What counts as bitumen paint
  2. 2.Price per litre in this set
  3. 3.Coverage and how many litres
  4. 4.Drinking water and BS 3416
  5. 5.What to check on the tin

What counts as bitumen paint

Bitumen paint here is a cold-applied black film: bitumen in a petroleum solvent, for metal, timber, concrete, brick, or existing felt. Four other listings were left out of this set. COATERA liquid silicone was 4.7 kg at £65.98. COATERA MS-polymer was 5.7 kg at £68.99. Thompson's 10 Year Roof Seal was 1 litre at £17.79, with 4.5 from 440 reviews. Polar Damp Seal was 2.5 litres at £38.99 and is an interior paint. If the title says silicone, polymer, roof seal, or damp seal, it is not the product this page is buying.

Price per litre in this set

Price per litre sorts this shelf. The 5 litre Bartoline tin at £28.50 is £5.70 a litre, the lowest rate here. Bird Brand 5 litres at £31.78 is about £6.36 a litre. Everbuild at £42.29 is about £8.46 a litre. Sika at £22.14 is about £8.86 a litre. The twin Bartoline pack at £45.36 is 5 litres at about £9.07 a litre. The twin pack is the weak bulk deal: two smaller cans, more per litre than the single 5 litre Bitcote tin. Everbuild's listing states 2.35 kg on a 5 litre size. That figure is light next to Bird's 5 litre tin at 5 kg.
Bartoline Bartoline Bitcote 5 litre

Testsieger

Bartoline Bartoline Bitcote 5 litre
8.7/10about £28.50
View offer

Coverage and how many litres

Coverage is where a 1 litre tin gets bought for a job it cannot finish. Sika's Amazon field is only 12.5, with no unit. Two coats on rough timber use about twice one coat on a smooth gutter. Bartoline states two coats and a touch-dry of 4–8 hours. Bird states neither. The brushing sequence is on how to apply bitumen paint.

Drinking water and BS 3416

BS 3416:1991 is the British Standard for cold-applied bitumen coatings intended for potable water. The Drinking Water Inspectorate does not let a product inherit an old approval. Regulation 4 of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 requires a water fitting to be of an appropriate standard. A retail bullet is not that standard. The Everbuild bullets say the tin is suitable for portable drinking water tanks, with no approval number and no leachate test. None of these six ASINs shows a WRAS number. If the job is a cistern or a mains fitting, stop.

What to check on the tin

Five checks decide the tin. The title must say bitumen paint, not silicone, a roof seal, or interior damp paint. The solvent should be named: Bartoline and Bird say white spirit, the twin pack says petroleum solvents, Sika says solvent-based, and Everbuild's bullets say nothing. Look for a touch-dry time and a coat count. Only the 5 litre Bartoline listing in this set states both. Then read the exclusions: no ordinary paint over the film, no tarmacadam on Bartoline's sheet, no mineral oil, and no drinking-water tank.

Common questions

How many square metres does a litre cover?
Bartoline states 9–13 m² per litre. Bird Brand states 8–10 m² per litre. Sika's Amazon field is 12.5 with no unit. Sika's UK sheet says about 4–6 m² per litre on porous surfaces and about 11 m² on non-porous surfaces, per coat. Two coats on rough timber use more paint than one coat on smooth steel.
Is a 5 litre tin enough for a shed and a few posts?
Often, if you use the porous figure. At about 5 m² per litre per coat, two coats on 10 m² of thirsty timber need about 4 litres, so a 5 litre tin finishes with a little spare. A 2.5 litre tin is tight on that sum. A 1 litre tin is a small metal or brick patch. Smooth gutters use less than felt or end grain.
Why is the 1 litre tin so dear per litre?
Bird Brand's 1 litre tin was £14.79 on 19 October 2026, so £14.79 a litre, against £5.70 a litre for 5 litres of Bartoline. You are paying for a small pack, not a thicker film. Buy the litre when you will not use 5 litres. Do not buy it to coat a fence run.
Is Everbuild 901 the same as Sika Black Jack 901?
On the manufacturer sheets they are the same Sika Everbuild family. On amazon.co.uk they are different listings. The 2.5 litre Sika tin has 4.6 from 3,348 reviews and names surfaces. The Everbuild 5 litre listing, £42.29 with 4.3 from 83 reviews, has two short bullets and a stated weight of 2.35 kg. Do not assume the Amazon copy matches a sheet you already know.
Can I line a water butt because the tin mentions BS 3416?
No. Bird's wording is "previously certified", with no current approval number on the listing. Sika's UK sheet says do not use the paint for potable tanks. WRAS section 5021 does not approve petroleum bitumen for cisterns or storage tanks. A review that mentions a water butt is not a test of the water.
Do I need white spirit as well as the tin?
Buy it to clean the brush when the tin names it. Bartoline allows up to 10% only for spraying. Sika says do not thin, and other UK makers, including Bostik, say the same. Do not thin a Sika tin because a Bartoline sheet allows spray thinning. Work where you can ventilate, and prefer a brush.

Related pages

Bitumen paint for fence posts

Bitumen paint

Best bitumen paint: the 5 litre and 2.5 litre tins

How to apply bitumen paint: two coats and a solvent

Bitumen paint vs roof seal: when the black tin fits

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listing lines saved on 19 October 2026. No laboratory test.

  1. Bartoline Bitcote technical data sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Bartoline black bitumen paint (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Sika Black Jack 901 UK product data sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Drinking Water Inspectorate — bitumen products FAQ (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. WRAS approvals directory, section 5021 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. HSE CIS27 — solvents (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Bird Brand black bituminous paint (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. HSE — creosote ministerial decisions (retrieved 19 October 2026)