BIOPAINTS HAVE MOVED TO NEW PREMISES

Thankfully, we are now back up and running. What a headache! Apologies to anyone waiting to place an order or receive one of our colour charts. Our new address is at 2 Vivian Place Tahuna. Still in Nelson but a more suitable spot for us. Our postal address will stay at Box 7077 Nelson and our 0800 number and email address is unchanged.

2011 Christmas Break

This year BioPaints will close on Wednesday 21 December and reopen 9 January 2012. May we take this opportunity to wish all our customers, contractors and suppliers a very happy Xmas and New Year and all the best for 2012.

Are Christmas and sustainability compatable?

We think so. Try some of the following ideas to help you make your Christmas a sustainable one.

Pot up a tree as a gift – the world can always do with more trees. Although Christmas in New Zealand is a long way from tree planting season, so your gift may not be planted out until next winter, meaning it will need some TLC from its recipient till then. Giving natives trees or flowering shrubs will help nurture our native birds and the bees.

Upcycle and recycle things you no longer need. Make old blankets into retro-styled cushions or soft toys. Use BioPaints testpots to repaint something you were on the verge of taking to the second-hand shop. Or get down to the nearest second-hand store and buy something that needs a bit of retrofitting, a new handle and a little paint job perhaps.

Offer to give someone a gift of your time – make a handwritten voucher pledging 3 hours of your time to help paint a coffee table/door/bedhead. We can all do with the gift of time – and not just at Christmas. Get inspired by looking at our designer, Tina’s amazing painted table. Look at either BioPaints’ Facebook page or, for more detail, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpVluYP15Vw&feature=related

Buy living gifts from World Vision, Tear Fund http://www.giftforlife.co.nz/, Save the children and any other sites that offer the same service. Your gift goes to someone in a third world country on behalf of your recipient.

Pledge to buy handmade www.buyhandmade.org/ and give gifts that come from the heart. Lovely idea – especially for family and very close friends.

To find your handmade items. Try shopping at New Zealand site Felt http://www.felt.co.nz/

And finally, remember to take time to cherish your family and all the people in your life.



BioPaints Thinner – multipurpose magic!

You may know how great BioPaints Thinner is for diluting our oil-based products and for brush cleaning. It is hugely useful when de-greasing and prepping your woodwork for painting. But did you know it can also be used for a wide variety of chores around your home or business?

We’ve gathered some ideas from our staff and customers about how they use BioPaints Thinner:

  • A Nelson café owner uses it daily to clean her windows. She writes her menu on the window and Thinner is a fast way to clean it off again.
  • Suzanne uses it to remove stickers – and the gummy glue they leave behind.
  • Kathryn fixed our squeaking doors – and brought a roller door mechanism back to life with the following lubricant mixture – Rice Bran Oil and 10% Thinner.
  • Suzanne uses it to clean the wooden floors in the BioPaints showroom.
  • Tina uses it to make a ‘replenisher’ for oiled and waxed furniture. She has used a variety of oils as the base- these have included avocado oil, walnut oil and BioPaints Tung Oil. Start with the oil then slowly add BioPaints Thinner to the mixture stirring constantly. Tina calls it her mayonnaise for timber. The two products emulsify on the mixing, just as in making a mayo.
  • Artists use Thinner to dilute their oil paints and to clean their brushes. You can do this with the BioPaints Artists range too.
  • Use Thinner to clean engines.
  • Use it for general cleaning (but not on plastic) and don’t use it to thin water-based products.

Thinner can be recycled many times. Just decant off the sludge.

Try Thinner whenever you would normally use Turps.

Rags soaked in Thinner can ignite if they are left scrunched up, so soak them in water and spread them out to dry on a non-combustible surface – or, put the rags into an airtight container.

Send us your own ideas for using Thinner.


Prepping the BioPaints showroom floor. After sanding, Suzanne wiped the floor with Thinner to degrease it. The floor was left to air dry and then coated with BioPaints Hard Varnish.