Paint and Solvent Courier

Most people sending paint do not know whether they are sending dangerous goods, and the answer is genuinely split. A tin of water-based emulsion is generally not ADR material at all and travels as ordinary freight. A tin of solvent-based gloss, a can of thinners, a tub of contact adhesive or a drum of coating solution is Class 3 - flammable liquid - under UN1263, UN1133, UN1139 or UN1866, and its packing group follows from its flashpoint and initial boiling point rather than from what it is used for. The practical consequence is that the same pallet from the same decorating merchant can be two different consignments, and the only reliable way to tell is section 14 of the safety data sheet. T&C Logistics carries the Class 3 case with ADR-certificated drivers and will say plainly when your load does not need that at all.

Is my paint actually dangerous goods?

Water-based emulsion generally is not; solvent-based paint is. The distinction is the carrier fluid, and it is the first thing to establish because it changes whether ADR applies to the movement at all.

Take the answer from section 14 of the manufacturer's safety data sheet, which gives the transport classification directly. A product with no UN number in section 14 is not ADR-regulated, and we will carry it as ordinary freight at ordinary rates. A product with one travels under that entry and needs a certificated driver where the quantity requires it.

What does the packing group actually mean?

How readily the liquid ignites, expressed as a severity band that affects packaging and quantity thresholds. For Class 3 it follows from flashpoint and initial boiling point rather than from the product's use.

In rough terms, the lower the flashpoint the higher the hazard and the stricter the packaging. You do not need to work this out — the safety data sheet states the packing group alongside the UN number — but it is worth knowing why two tins that look identical can be treated differently, and why substituting a thinner for a cheaper one can change the consignment. Send the packing group with the UN number and the quantity, and the vehicle and regime are settled in one exchange.

Do a few tins need a full ADR consignment?

Often not. ADR's limited-quantities regime lets dangerous goods packed in small inner receptacles within an outer package, below the per-package limit for the entry, travel under reduced requirements — the limited-quantities diamond rather than full class labels, and no orange plates on the vehicle.

A trade-counter order of retail-sized tins usually falls inside it; a pallet of 20-litre drums does not. What limited quantities never does is remove your duty to pack and mark correctly. So send inner-receptacle sizes rather than only the total volume, and we will tell you which regime the consignment falls under — the difference is real money on a small job, and we would rather you not pay for a specification you do not need.

What about two-part systems and hardeners?

Send both UN numbers, not just the resin's. A two-part resin or filler system is frequently two different ADR problems in one order: the resin is usually Class 3, while a peroxide hardener sits in division 5.2.

Division 5.2 is the part that needs checking rather than assuming. Organic peroxides are thermally unstable, several entries carry a control temperature, and some are not permitted for carriage at all — that last is the entry's own restriction rather than ours. Where a control temperature applies we carry in a temperature-controlled vehicle to the figure you specify. So the useful enquiry gives us the resin's entry, the hardener's entry, and any control temperature on the latter.

How do paint and solvent loads have to be packed?

In the packaging the packing instruction specifies, upright, with lids secure and the outer package able to contain a leak from a single inner receptacle. We supply no packaging — cartons, absorbent and outer packages are yours.

Two preparation points save most refusals. A tin whose lid has been opened and pressed back on is not a sealed inner receptacle, and a part-used tin is a different proposition from a sealed one; say if any are part-used. And nothing conductive or sharp should be loose in the same package, because a punctured tin inside a carton is a leak you discover at the far end. We check both before loading.

Can you collect from a decorating or builders' merchant?

Yes, and it is the commonest version of the job: the gang is on site, the materials are at a counter, and nobody can leave. We collect against your order reference and deliver to the site or the yard.

One requirement differs from a normal collection. The merchant is the consignor, so the merchant raises the transport document or applies the limited-quantities marking — neither you from site nor our driver at the counter can do it. Give us the order reference, the counter's address and the UN numbers if you have them; the counter needs the goods correctly packed, marked and documented. A driver arriving to an unmarked dangerous-goods order cannot load it.

Can you take waste paint and part-used tins away?

Yes, as a separate arrangement rather than an add-on. Waste paint and solvent are hazardous waste as well as dangerous goods, and the paperwork is a duty-of-care consignment note rather than a commercial delivery note.

T&C Logistics Ltd is registered with the Environment Agency as an upper tier waste carrier, broker and dealer under registration number CBDU654368, registered 20 August 2026 and valid to 20 August 2029 — searchable on the Waste Carriers and Brokers Public Register for England rather than taken on trust. The broker and dealer roles are what let a managed collection with partner treatment be arranged properly. We carry and arrange; we do not treat or recycle, and any recovery documentation is issued by the facility that did the work. An uncleaned empty drum still travels under the entry of what it held.

What vehicle does a paint consignment need?

Weight binds for drums and volume for retail tins, so the two ends of this trade need different vehicles. A pallet of 20-litre drums is dense; a pallet of boxed 2.5-litre tins is not.

See the parent hazardous goods service and decorators merchant delivery.

Can paint be stored or held between legs?

Not by us. We carry point to point and do not hold dangerous goods between legs, because storage of flammable liquids is a different regulated activity from transporting them and needs a site and a permit rather than a vehicle.

That matters when a delivery fails. If a site cannot receive a Class 3 consignment — nobody at the gate, no bunded area, the window missed — the load returns to origin on the same vehicle rather than waiting somewhere overnight. So the practical advice is to make the receiving arrangements firm before the vehicle leaves: a named contact, a place the material can legitimately be put, and a window the site will honour. A failed Class 3 delivery costs the full run twice, which is a stronger reason to confirm access than it is on ordinary freight.

What does it cost to send paint?

From £50 (ex VAT) for the smallest dedicated job, quoted as one fixed price before you book. Final price depends on distance, vehicle, urgency and time - quoted in full upfront before you book.

What insurance applies, and how do I book?

Goods-in-transit cover of £50,000 per consignment, extending to £1,000,000 through partner carriers where the value requires it, plus public liability of £1,000,000. Limits and exclusions are in our terms.

Held: ADR vocational training certificates at driver level, Driver CPC, an Operator's Licence, Environment Agency registration CBDU654368, GDPR compliance and a ULEZ-compliant fleet. Not held: we have no Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser appointment of our own and work with partners who hold one where a consignment needs it. T&C Logistics Ltd is Companies House number 16838210; the list is on our licences page.

1. Call 0121 720 3841 for the office or +44 7963 400173 for dispatch. Enquiries are taken around the clock and answered between 06:00 and 22:00, seven days a week.
2. Send section 14 of the safety data sheet, or the UN number and packing group from it.
3. Give inner-receptacle sizes as well as the total volume, so we can confirm limited quantities or full ADR.
4. For a two-part system, send both entries and any control temperature on the hardener.
5. Say whether any tins are part-used, and whether anything is coming back as waste.
6. Accept the fixed price and an ADR-certificated driver from our 3,000-plus network is assigned where the load needs one.

Related: aerosols, hazardous materials, bodyshop paint delivery, construction logistics and the ADR regulations. Or request a quote online. Google Reviews rating 5.0★.