Balwyn High School: A Bold Refresh for a Proud Community

Balwyn High School: A Bold Refresh for a Proud Community

Education

Haymes Paint partnered with valued long-term customer Furlong Painting to deliver a comprehensive repaint that balanced durability, compliance and design intent.

Reimagining a School Environment

Balwyn High School is a well-established public secondary school in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. The campus has developed progressively over several decades, resulting in a mix of original infrastructure and more recently constructed facilities that required coordinated maintenance and aesthetic alignment.

When it came time to refresh internal and external surfaces, the goal extended beyond maintenance. The school sought to revitalise ageing substrates, modernise its visual identity and create a safe, vibrant and inspiring learning environment for students and staff.

Haymes Paint partnered with valued long-term customer Furlong Painting to deliver a comprehensive repaint that balanced durability, compliance and design intent.

A Confident New Colour Direction

While the initial brief focused on addressing internal and external substrates, the colour scheme quickly became a defining feature of the project.

Rather than remaining within traditional neutral tones, the project adopted a more contemporary colour direction. The facility manager and school personnel worked collaboratively with Furlong Painting’s experienced sales team and the Haymes Paint Colour Consultant team to develop a palette that would better align the older infrastructure with more recently constructed buildings across the campus. The result was a considered, cohesive scheme that modernised the environment while maintaining consistency throughout the school grounds.

The outcome was a confident scheme incorporating darker tones contrasted with strong green hues. This deliberate shift ensured the visual upgrade would be immediately noticeable while still cohesive across the campus.

For external applications, colour vibrancy and longevity were critical. Haymes Paint’s advanced H&O (High Opacity) tinters played a key role in delivering depth and richness in darker shades, ensuring excellent coverage and bold colour expression without compromising durability. The result is a façade that feels modern, energetic and unified with colour clarity that will hold its impact over time.

Diverse Substrates Across Campus

The scope of works was extensive and technically varied.

Externally, surfaces included previously painted slab wall panels, rendered facades, pre-finished doors and windows, gutters and gutter brackets and tilt panel doors. These substrates required careful preparation and a high-performance coating system capable of withstanding environmental exposure while maintaining colour consistency.

Internally, works ranged from standard classroom ceilings, walls and trims to more complex beam and truss configurations at height within the Hall and Music areas. These spaces demanded detailed planning, safe access solutions and products that could deliver uniform finish quality across varied surfaces.

Throughout the project, Furlong Painting carefully staged works to minimise disruption to school operations, maintaining strict safety standards within the active learning environment.

High-Performance Coating Systems for Education

Education environments demand coatings that support indoor air quality, withstand heavy traffic and frequent cleaning, and maintain a professional appearance year after year.

For internal walls, Ultra Premium Expressions® Low Sheen was selected for its durability, washability and refined finish. Formulated with low VOC levels and Global GreenTag certification, it supports healthier indoor air quality while delivering excellent scuff resistance in high-use areas.

Doors and windows were finished in Ultra Premium Ultratrim, delivering a hard-wearing enamel finish with the benefits of a water-based acrylic formula that is ideal for high-contact areas requiring durability and easy ongoing maintenance.

Externally, Ultra Premium Solashield was specified to provide superior weather resistance, colour retention and long-term durability. Designed to perform in demanding Australian conditions, Solashield ensures that bold external colours remain vibrant while protecting substrates from moisture and environmental wear.

Together, this integrated system provides the school with confidence that both aesthetics and performance are built to last.

Shared Values, Shared Outcomes

The success of the Balwyn High School refresh reflects strong alignment between all stakeholders. School leadership, Furlong Painting and Haymes Paint shared a commitment to quality, community pride and long-term thinking.

The transformation delivers more than a visual upgrade. It reinforces the school’s standing as a place of excellence and care where students feel inspired and staff can work within a refreshed, professional environment.

Complete Project Solutions for the Education Sector

Haymes Paint supports education projects across Australia with tailored colour specification and high-performance coating systems designed for real-world learning environments.

From bold exterior façades to compliant, low-VOC internal spaces, our solutions combine durability, certified environmental credentials and advanced colour technology, including H&O tint systems that deliver vibrancy and coverage across complex palettes.

Whether upgrading ageing infrastructure or delivering a new campus build, Haymes Paint provides the expertise, product performance and on-the-ground support to ensure education spaces remain safe, inspiring and built to endure.

Painters: Furlong Painting

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