Well that was interesting...

[Ian M]

I found a web shop in Germany that sells colourcoat paint! They can even deliver them!!!
Now My understanding is that these paints can not be sent outside the UK by Sovereign hobbies due to restrictions with the postal and courier services..
This shop sends them with DHL.
Just got a mail saying that they are out of stock right now but they are just placing an order with Sovereign and can hopefully have them within the month!!! So all the tosh about they cant send them in the post or by courier is in my mind just that. Utter tosh!
Can someone explain the rules to me. Is it just the UK postal service being a jobsworth or it "the UK homeland security" being totally paranoid? Or is it an EU thing?

[Guest]

What is colourcoat paint Ian. I havnt come across this. But you are right about the post in the UK with jobsworth rules. Utter tosh I agree.

[Guest]

What is colourcoat paint Ian. I havnt come across this. But you are right about the post in the UK with jobsworth rules. Utter tosh I agree.

[Ian M]

They are Enamel paints Alan. They used to be sold by White Ensign, who went belly up last year. Now Sovereign Models sell them. Same paints, same makers, just a new wholesaler. The Guy behind the paints has gone to extremes to make them as accurate as possible and most of them are matched to authentic colour chips from the actual paint manufacturers. You can find them here: https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/ they have a good range, also of kits and bits.

[Guest]

Perhaps a John could come in on this as I struggle with these regulations myself. I suppose a small amount to a mail order customer limits the cost effectiveness of sending outside the country. As a dealer, your supplier in Germany would have to be making a sizeable order, which would be via an international courier courier and as such that would be shipped differently, the amount making it possible.

I am not even sure who implemented these regulations. I know Royal Mail were blamed for everything when it started and the confusion over what could and couldn't be sent created some strange, not neceseraly true, paradox situations. They, Royal Mail, interpreted the regulations in such a way that they would not ship Acrylic paint as it was classed as flammable but you could send a bottle of perfume or even a bottle of brandy. Not exactly fireproof are they?

It then seemed to get more confusing to me as the emphasis then switched to blaming the airfreight companies who, apparently, will not carry flammable liquids. This also meant that internal airfreight, such as post flown the length of the UK was affected but the same goods could be carried by couriers in vans.

Statistically, possibly, a van or truck is more likely to be in a crash situation that could involve fire than an aircraft per mile or pot of Tamiya paint carried. I can appreciate airfreight worries over pressurised containers such as rattle cans but I would love tho know exactly how many disasters have occurred which made these regulations come into force.

The cynic in me wonders if the regulations were brought in to give specific work to private courier companies who will carry just about anything, if correctly packaged and labelled, at a time when the UK Government of the day were trying everything they could to get rid of the alleged monopoly of the Royal Mail.

[stona]

Here is what the Royal Mail declines to carry.

https://business.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/867/~/prohibited-goods---uk

I've never tried to set a tinlet of enamel paint on fire, which would be a fairly stupid experiment anyway, but dip a cocktail stick in the paint and wave it near a flame and it will burn very nicely, so maybe they have a point.

Cheers

Steve

[stillp]

I suspect they're more concerned about paint leaking onto other people's mail, rather than catching fire.

[John]

It's not totally down to Royal Mail it's aviation rules that's the problems, with DHL they would have filled the relevant dangerous goods forms to allow them to carry them, I had to fill in the same thing for UPS but then they told me starting this year they would charge an extra £20 per parcel containing such items, so I stuck with Interlink, but that's only for UK

[Guest]

It isn't the paint itself (or any flammable liquid/material), but their vapours that cause the potential problem.

For airfreight the rules regarding shipping hazardous materials have been around for years & are rigidly enforced. When it comes to road freight, the regs are less draconian, which might explain why a German shop has these paints.