I know that these "please help me out" threads aren't that well-liked, but I'm having a problem that the Radicon community seemed the best group to consult about it.
I am currently working on a project related to the increased cost of materials as products are scaled up. I have all of the equations created, but no matter how or where I search I can't seem to find information on how much certain materials cost per unit, and without these numbers I won't be able to calculate the actual cost of materials.

So, could any of you tell me how much plastic costs per cubic unit, or how much area a given volume of paint or clear-coat could cover? I can't find any information on the former, and I can only find prices for the latter two in terms of volume. Any advice or information would be really helpful.

 

If I'm calculating this right, I think a conservative number would be about 120 square inches per ounce of paint. It may seem like a lot, but hobby cans are small. Plus you lose some to the air.

What kind of plastic are you talking about? Styrene? some kind of resin?

If its styrene, you can pick up a 4x8 sheet for dirt cheap compared to buying small pieces at the hobby shop.

 

I'm mostly looking into the costs that a factory might pay for average, toy-quality plastic. The paint info, however, is quite helpful. Thank you very much for it.