Tamiya Spray Paint Ban In Canada

[RichB]

A buzz going thru the Canadian modelling community has Tamiya Spray Can paints being banned for import. Any stock arriving or currently at ports will likely be destroyed. Hobby shops can sell what they have in stock but are unsure if they will be able to restock from distributors that have the paint on hand or if it will have to be destroyed too.

Canada has had regulations in place since 2010 limiting VOC'S and other nasty things in paints. Whether there has been a tightening of the regulation, enforcement or Tamiya has changed its formulation is unclear.

Cheers,
RichB

 

[moon puppy]

Wow! guess it's too late to stock up.

 

[Rhino]

I smell Trudeau. All spray-bombs or JUST Tamiya?

 

[RichB]

Right now it appears to be only Tamiya spray paints. More shop owners have been joining the discussion and it seems the importer of record may not be supplying the correct MSDS/SDS to government agencies. If the importation documents are being fudged, it could spread to other manufacturers as well.

Tamiya does say on their website that not all of their paint products are available in all countries.

Cheers,
RichB

 

[RichB]

Latest update.

All TS, AS & PS spray paints and all spray primers can no longer be imported into Canada. Importers can not sell any of the stock they may have in their warehouses. Hobby stores will receive orders that have already left distributors and can sell their remaining stock. Once that is out, that will be the end of their availability unless Tamiya makes the necessary changes to their products to comply with Canadian regulations.

Cheers,
RichB

 

[moon puppy]

Is it really just a documentation issue or is there something in it that triggered this?

 

[RichB]

It might be a combination of things. Shop owners are hearing that there is something in Tamiya's formulation that runs amiss of Canada's regulations, be it an ingredient or the percentage of it. The importer may not have declared the correct information to get the import certificate.

Did Tamiya change its formulation in the last year? Did the importer fudge the data? Did the paperwork go across the desk of a reviewer that dug a little deeper? Lots of questions and not many answers.

Cheers,
RichB

 

[razordws]

Hmmm... I will miss their primer. I wonder if it also has to do with the lack of warning labels in the official languages. French and English

 

[Impisi]

Well then we can wait here in EU land, when this will happen here too.

 

[sharkman]

Well, that sucks!

I will miss the primer too!

 

[RichB]

An update on the situation. Environment Canada, the agency in charge of these things, contacted the Canadian distributor directly, informing them that Tamiya TS and PS spray product lines have a VOC content higher than allowed by regulations. As a result, there is a temporary ban and they can no longer be imported or distributed in Canada. Hobby shops can continue to sell what product they have in stock. In the meantime, all parties are working to resolve the problem. Worst case, there is no change to the formuation and the product lines will be banned. Best case, the products are re-formulated and will be back on store shelves. Only time will tell.

Cheers,
RichB