Intumescent paint is a type of fire retardant paint. When exposed to the flames of a fire it expands to become a black foam or "char barrier" which can be almost an inch thick and coats the surface that the paint has been applied to. This char barrier cuts off much-needed fuel to the burning fire and protects the underlying structures giving precious extra time for the evacuation of the occupants of a building and allowing fire fighters longer to arrive and quench the blaze so that the damage is minimized.
Intumescent paint were lumpy in texture and their application required a trained operator with special equipment. Some contained toxic or carcinogenic chemicals or had a foul stench. Others were based on fire retardant chemicals held in water. This meant that they did not bond well with the surfaces that they were applied to and other paints or coatings did not bond as well to them. In the event of a fire the char barrier was easily broken and would become ineffective. Despite these problems, however, the early types of Intumescent paint still played an important role in certain situations including chemical manufacturing plants, oil rigs and oil refineries.
Nowadays, these Intumescent paint are much improved. They can be easily applied with a brush, roller or paint sprayer and are polymer based so will bond to many different types of surfaces. They are non toxic and not irritating to the skin so they are completely harmless to children and pets. Two coats of this paint will give adequate protection for most situations and they are much more affordable than the old types. These improved Intumescent paints are now being used in many situations. They can be used on steel, aluminum, timber and drywall as well as any porous surface. Steel structures need to be protected because when subjected to enough heat they will weaken and eventually the building will collapse.
All in all the recent improvements in these paints make it the right kind of passive fire protection to limit fire damage in a circumstance where you would need it most. Intumescent paint has become one of the most valuable ways of protecting your property from the catastrophic effects of an uncontrolled fire.
