Travelling by plane with Winsor & Newton art materials

There’s great pleasure to be had in taking out your portable colour kit and painting under an open sky or during holiday travel. All of our artists’ materials are suitable for outdoor use. But while many of our products are perfectly safe for air travel, some are considered dangerous and cannot be transported by air.

The carriage of dangerous goods by air is governed by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. These regulations are reviewed annually and revised by the Dangerous Goods Board as necessary.

We recommend that you consult with your airline before taking any art materials aboard. In our experience some airlines will adopt local rules beyond the scope of IATA that prohibit some product categories, such as oil colours. We also recommend that you print out this information and the relevant Material Safety Data Sheets for presentation to airline authorities and inclusion with any artists’ materials in your checked baggage.

The following products fall outside the scope of the Dangerous Goods Regulations and are considered safe for transport by air:

  • Artists’ Oil Colour (all colours)
  • Oilbar (all colours, though please note Oilbar has now been discontinued)
  • Winton Oil Colour (all colours)
  • Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour (all colours)
  • Artisan Water Mixable Mediums (all mediums)
  • Cold Pressed Linseed Oil
  • Refined Linseed Oil
  • Drying Linseed Oil
  • Thickened Linseed Oil
  • Drying Poppy Oil
  • Safflower Oil
  • Artguard Barrier Cream
  • Brush Cleaner
  • Professional Watercolour Pans (all colours)
  • Professional Watercolour Tubes (all colours)
  • Cotman Watercolour Pans (all colours)
  • Cotman Watercolour Tubes (all colours)
  • Aquapasto
  • Art Masking Fluid
  • Watercolour Mediums (all)
  • Professional Acrylic Colours (all colours)
  • Galeria Acrylic Colours (all colours)
  • Professional Acrylic Mediums & Varnishes
  • Galeria Acrylic Mediums & Varnishes
  • Designers Gouache (all colours)
  • Drawing Inks (all colours)
  • Calligraphy Inks (all colours)

A note on oil colours and mediums

Any products or materials with a flash point below 61C are classified as dangerous goods and these products cannot be included in either checked or hand baggage during airline travel. (The flash point is the temperature at which a product will flame, so a higher flash point is better.)

While a few of our oil colour products do have a flash point at or below the 61C mark, the flash points of a large number of our oil colour products are well above. Products with flash points below 61C that are Group II or Group III flammable materials should be considered unsuitable for airline travel. These include:

Oil colour solvents (except Artisan Water Mixable Thinner)
Oil colour mediums (except Artisan Water Mixable Oil Mediums)
Oil colour varnishes (except Artisan Water Mixable Varnishes)

We caution against travel with Liquin products. Although the flashpoints are in most cases greater than 61C, airline officials may still disallow their carriage. The same holds true for Sansodor; all solvents and thinners are banned regardless of flashpoint.

The following Winsor & Newton products have flash points above 61C, and are therefore are classified as non-hazardous:

  • Artists’ Oil Colour >230C
  • Winton Oil Colour >230C
  • Refined Linseed Oil >230C
  • Linseed Stand Oil >230C
  • Thickened Linseed Oil >230C
  • Bleached Linseed Oil >230C
  • Cold Pressed Linseed Oil >230C
  • Oilbar >230C (though please note Oilbar has now been discontinued)
  • Griffin Alkyd Fast Drying Oil Colours 70C
  • Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colours >100C
  • Artisan Water Mixable Linseed Oil >200C
  • Artisan Water Mixable Stand Oil >200C
  • Artisan Water Mixable Painting Medium 70C
  • Artisan Water Mixable Fast Drying Medium >70C
  • Artisan Water Mixable Impasto Medium >70C