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.

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.

Can also be used to fully clean floors before recoating with product.
This is not a regular household cleaner and should be used carefully on oils, waxes and varnishes. If used too concentrated or left too long it can remove the coating.

Uses

Use BioPaints natural and non-toxic Heavy Duty Cleaner for brushes and heavy stains or for removing and cleaning coatings prior to recoating.

Data Sheet

Related Products

BioPaints Household Cleaner

BioPaints Thinner

Any of BioPaints paints, varnishes, oils or waxes.

Can be used in conjunction with BioPaints Floor Care.

Uses

Use BioPaints natural and non-toxic Household cleaner for most surfaces in and around the home.

Data Sheet

Related Products

BioPaints Floor Care

BioPaints Heavy Duty Cleaner

Use to revitalise your floors and timber surfaces and to protect against stains and wear. This polish allows the coating and timber/substrate to breathe, is anti-static, washable and biodegradable.

Easy to use, BioPaints Floor Care can simply be added to a bucket of warm water and moped over your floors or wiped over interior surfaces to refresh, restore and revitalise.
Can be used in conjunction with BioPaints Household Cleaner.

Uses

Use BioPaints natural and non-toxic Floor Care for naturally coated interior timber surfaces such as floors, benchtops, cork and plywood or stone, concrete, granite and tiles.

Data Sheet

Related Products

Any of BioPaints varnishes, oils or waxes.

Uses

Use BioPaints Thinner for cleaning brushes, rollers and utensils, thinning oil-based products or for cleaning and degresing surfaces before oiling, waxing, varnishing, painting etc. See Data Sheet for more information.

Data Sheet

Related Products

Any of BioPaints oil-based varnishes, oils or waxes and paints.

Uses

Use BioPaints Tung Oil on timber, raw concrete, mudbrick.

Coverage

10-12m² per litre depending on the absorbency of the substrate and application method – see Data Sheet for more detailed information

Data Sheet

Related Products

BioPaints Thinner