MetEx House, 496a Great West Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW5 0TE  ·  Shipping since 1998
0800 096 38 39
🎨 Dangerous goods • Paint, adhesives & chemicals • Since 1998

Shipping paint, adhesives & chemicals
The garage cupboard is where shipments go wrong

Solvent-based paint is a flammable liquid. So are contact adhesive, white spirit and thinners. Drain cleaner is corrosive, weedkiller can be toxic. None of it is unshippable — but all of it is regulated, and a half-used tin in a household move is one of the fastest ways to stop a consignment.

Ask about your shipment📞 0800 096 38 39
The category

Paint, solvents, glues and cleaning products

This group catches trade customers and households alike. A decorator sending materials to a job overseas, a manufacturer shipping samples, or a family packing the contents of a garage — all run into the same rules.

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Solvent-based paint is a flammable liquid (Class 3), shipped under UN1263, “Paint” or “Paint related material”. That covers gloss, varnish, lacquer, wood stain, thinners and brush cleaner.
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Water-based paint is usually not regulated for transport — but “usually” is doing real work in that sentence. The product’s own safety data sheet is what decides, not the label on the front.
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Adhesives and solvents follow the same logic. Contact adhesive, spray glue, acetone, white spirit and cellulose thinners are flammable liquids. PVA and most water-based glues are not.
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Cleaning and workshop chemicals can be corrosive (Class 8) or toxic (Class 6). Drain unblockers, oven cleaners, bleach concentrates, pool chemicals, battery acid and pesticides all sit here.
Getting it right

What we need from you

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The safety data sheet, every time. For commercial shipments this is not optional — section 14 gives the UN number, class, packing group and proper shipping name. Without it, nobody can classify the goods correctly, and guessing is misdeclaration.
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Tested packaging. Regulated liquids need UN-specification packaging with absorbent material and secure closures, not the original retail box. See what the UN packaging code means.
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Air and sea differ significantly. Quantities that are impractical by air are often straightforward by sea. If you are moving volume, sea freight is usually the sensible route and we will say so.
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Part-used containers are a problem. A half-empty tin with paint dried around the rim will not seal reliably, and residue still classifies. Ship new, sealed product or leave it behind.
The household reality

If you are moving house

For a household move, our advice is nearly always the same: the garage and the utility cupboard are where shipments go wrong. Paint, thinners, weedkiller, barbecue lighter fluid, camping gas, aerosols and pool chemicals should all stay behind. They are cheap to replace, and every one of them is capable of stopping a container or a consignment.

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The exception worth asking about: specialist trade materials you genuinely cannot buy at destination. Those can often be shipped properly — tell us early and we will price it as regulated cargo rather than discovering it at the warehouse.
Common questions

Your questions answered

Can I ship tins of paint abroad? +
Solvent-based paint is a flammable liquid under UN1263 and can be shipped when correctly classified, packed in tested packaging and declared. Water-based paint is often not regulated, but the product's safety data sheet decides that, not the label.
Do I need a safety data sheet? +
For commercial shipments of paint, adhesives or chemicals, yes. Section 14 of the SDS gives the UN number, class, packing group and proper shipping name. Without it the goods cannot be classified correctly.
What about half-used tins from my garage? +
We advise leaving them behind. Part-used containers rarely reseal properly, residue still classifies, and the contents are inexpensive to replace at destination.
Is sea freight easier than air for these goods? +
Often, yes. Quantities that are impractical or prohibitively expensive by air are frequently straightforward by sea. If you are moving volume we will usually recommend sea and explain why.
What should never go in a household shipment? +
Paint and thinners, weedkiller and pesticides, pool chemicals, barbecue lighter fluid, camping gas, aerosols, and drain or oven cleaners. All are cheap to replace and all are capable of stopping the whole consignment.
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Lak Kharod, Director
Excess Luggage Co. • 40 years in the freight industry • MetEx House, Hounslow, next to Heathrow

“The biggest issues are always misdeclaration and incorrect packing. Most people think you put it in the box and send it. Tell us what is actually in the shipment and we will tell you how it has to travel.” For advice on a regulated shipment, call 0800 096 38 39.

Shipping paint or chemicals?

Tell us what you’re sending and we’ll tell you how it has to be declared, packed and documented. We’ll give you a clear quote up front, before you commit to anything.

Ask about your shipment📞 0800 096 38 39
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