Reclaimed Paint Shops are a thing

lammas14

So as a late twentysomething I'm at the stage of trying to save to buy a home in London but still want to decorate the space I'm in now without going crazy on spending.

Now I've heard the budget brands end up taking around 4-5 coats for you not to actually see any of the previous colour underneath and the premium brands, well they just cost far too much for me.

So I scoured the internet in the hope of finding an alternative and I think I found the holy grail. So it's called reclaimed paint and it's basically leftover paint that people and businesses have after decorating which is then redistributed to anyone in the community really. There are around 70 schemes like this around the country that redistribute surplus paint.

I found an organisation called Forest Recycling Project, who are based in Walthamstow, East London that have thousands upon thousands litres of this stuff. There are so many brands, types and colours available there that you become a little bit [FONT=&quot]overwhelmed [/FONT] (in a good way though). There are paints for your walls, outdoor brickwork, indoor/outdoor wood, fences, floors literally everything! The best thing about it though is the price. Paint is priced at £1-£2 a litre!!:shocked:. Now to put that into context you could potentially paint your whole house for £50. I bought a Dulux Trade 5 Litre in Pebble Drift (Blueish/Grey) for £10, which would have cost me £40 at a normal shop! They probably have more paint than your local B&Q or Homebase and it is [FONT=&quot]genuinely [/FONT] one of the best places I have been in a long time.

Another benefit is the environmental savings you can make by sourcing this paint. You don't actually think of what happens to paint after you've finished painting your room, usually it goes in a shed or in your bin. Actually the effect it has on the environment in terms of CO2 emissions and leaking into water streams is horrendous.

So this thread is less like a question but to pay homage to finding something so amazing, I just felt I had to write about it

Silvertabby

Sounds good - we've taken leftover paint to our local tip in the past, and it seems such a waste.

My late parents used to live near a paint factory, which sold off end of line and damaged tins for cheap. When they wanted to decorate it didn't matter what colour mum fancied - she was limited to what was available in the factory shop as dad wouldn't pay full price !

societys_child

something so amazing, I just felt I had to write about it

Signs up to tell us the name and location of this wonderful company, prices, environmental impact, etc etc etc . . . too good to be true . . .
:spam: but, suppose someone may find it useful.

spadoosh

societys_child wrote: »

Signs up to tell us the name and location of this wonderful company, prices, environmental impact, etc etc etc . . . too good to be true . . .
:spam: but, suppose someone may find it useful.

Could be. The company is a registered charity and has a few warehouses. They sell second hand and reclaimed furniture. In their mission statement it says they employ young people (neet's) and disabled.

lammas14

societys_child wrote: »

Signs up to tell us the name and location of this wonderful company, prices, environmental impact, etc etc etc . . . too good to be true . . .
:spam: but, suppose someone may find it useful.

It's a nationwide movement intiated by Community Repaint. It's geared towards those on low income and community groups but anyone can use it. I also thought it was too good to be true but just google it

wantonnoodle

Shock horror! I went into a high street store last week, and they were selling selected Dulux 5 litre tins for £10 a pop. No need to use someone else's waste!!

Their standard price for Dulux or Johnstones 2.5 litres was only around £14 each as well, so hardly what I would call bank breaking - 2.5 litres was more than enough to cover a 10' x 12' room.

As long as you stay away from the premium finishes (wipe clean, waterproof etc) you can usually pick up paint pretty cheaply if you look around the high street stores. Having bought a house 6 months ago which we are in the process of decorating from top to bottom, we're not exactly inexperienced at hunting down paint bargains from the major retailers - chances are there's always an offer somewhere, you just need to find it.

spadoosh

wantonnoodle wrote: »

Shock horror! I went into a high street store last week, and they were selling selected Dulux 5 litre tins for £10 a pop. No need to use someone else's waste!!

Their standard price for Dulux or Johnstones 2.5 litres was only around £14 each as well, so hardly what I would call bank breaking - 2.5 litres was more than enough to cover a 10' x 12' room.

As long as you stay away from the premium finishes (wipe clean, waterproof etc) you can usually pick up paint pretty cheaply if you look around the high street stores. Having bought a house 6 months ago which we are in the process of decorating from top to bottom, we're not exactly inexperienced at hunting down paint bargains from the major retailers - chances are there's always an offer somewhere, you just need to find it.

I'd imagine the tins you bought where the retail paint and not the same trade versions that the OP bought. Many retailers sell 5l dulux for £10 on promotions. Ive never come across the trade paints that discounted before though.

Trade paints have more pigment in them which means the opacity is better. You usually use less coats with trade paint. So 2.5l retail paint will do around 30m2 5l around 60m2 and 5l trade will do around 85m2.


Personally ive rarely had issues with the cheaper brands of paint but i know people are picky with their paints.

lammas14

wantonnoodle wrote: »

Shock horror! I went into a high street store last week, and they were selling selected Dulux 5 litre tins for £10 a pop. No need to use someone else's waste!!

Their standard price for Dulux or Johnstones 2.5 litres was only around £14 each as well, so hardly what I would call bank breaking - 2.5 litres was more than enough to cover a 10' x 12' room.

As long as you stay away from the premium finishes (wipe clean, waterproof etc) you can usually pick up paint pretty cheaply if you look around the high street stores. Having bought a house 6 months ago which we are in the process of decorating from top to bottom, we're not exactly inexperienced at hunting down paint bargains from the major retailers - chances are there's always an offer somewhere, you just need to find it.

What may not be bank breaking to one person may be an issue for another person. Over the course of painting a house it could save you between £100-£200 which can be quite a significant and useful saving for households especially those on low income

I fortunately don't see products that have been used slightly as "waste" but understand that some people see it as a inferior product, which in the long term isn't great for the environment.

Also I challenge a lot of people to actually find trade paint at such a low price across the highstreet. Dulux, crown and Johnstones non trade paints I agree can be found at discount prices but I'd rather have a better trade paint, so anywhere i can get it cheaper I'll take it.

societys_child

lammas14 wrote: »

It's a nationwide movement intiated by Community Repaint. It's geared towards those on low income and community groups but anyone can use it. I also thought it was too good to be true but just google it

Sorry, but when a first time poster joins the forum to post something that reads like an infomercial, it smells more of tinned pork than tinned paint.

You seem to know a lot about this, for someone who was just looking for cheap paint.

zenshi

When I was first told about this charity selling unwanted paint, I too googled as I wanted to know the whys and how's etc

I started using them when I was really struggling with money and was renovating my house. I redecorated my 4 bed house...ceilings, walls and all woodwork for well less than it would have cost at the sheds. Way less than £100, maybe round 50/60 but can't really remember

This is after all a money saving site and not many people actually know about this programme and it keeps paint out of landfill. My local council have banned you from taking paint to their recycling centres.

Le_Kirk

societys_child wrote: »

Sorry, but when a first time poster joins the forum to post something that reads like an infomercial, it smells more of tinned pork than tinned paint.

OP joined over one year ago!