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Fire retardant finish

7/1/19       
John B Member

I have been asked to quote a project that includes natural wood cabinetry and other millwork in a restaurant. Wood is required to be class A fire retardant treated. I am finding a few spray finishes in Google searches that would give me the rating but not familiar with any of them. I will need durability for cleaning purposes and sounds like some of these might not be that great for that. Is anyone using a system they would recommend? The architect is not familiar with any in particular.
If not, has anyone topcoated a treatment with a waterborne coating such as Sayerlack or Milesi? Looking for any input.
Thank You.

7/1/19       #2: Fire retardant finish ...
Brian Member

"Class A", refers to Flame Spread, not Fire Retardant. You need to confirm with whomever is making this requirement which they really want.

7/1/19       #3: Fire retardant finish ...
CraigM

I've sprayed Flame Control (link attached) for a few commercial restaurant jobs. It sprays like oatmeal and doesn't lay out/feel like a typical CV or 2k, but it does what it's supposed to. I've sprayed it over both stains and raw, solid and veneer. never topcoated it with anything else though, the millwork was decorative only and didn't see much wear and tear. I ordered it through my local Sherwin store in western Canada.

Flame Control

7/2/19       #4: Fire retardant finish ...
Shane

we have used the flame control products as well to meet the flame spread spec on those kind of jobs.... beware it is not durable and feels soft.. sprays like crap and does not lay out very well. If it's going to be touchy feely and needs durability your out of luck. the intumescent products are designed to puff up and insulate when they come in contact with a flame.... t will never be a hard durable surface.... the waterbase cures faster than the mineral sprits based..... both with stick together like contact cement even after a week of dry time... pack with wax paper on any finished surfaces...

7/2/19       #5: Fire retardant finish ...
John B Member

Thanks for the responses. Looks like the architects needs to clarify things a bit. With all the restaurants out there with wood in them seems like this should be easy enough for them to clarify.

7/2/19       #6: Fire retardant finish ...
DannyB Member

Get clarification.

You can use intumescent coatings (as someone said), and that stuff *can* usually be topcoated with something else.

See, for example, http://isolatek.com/intumescent-app/

"Finally, a decorative and protective top coat may be applied over the installed intumescent coating. This finish coat can be any color and gloss level and should be a material that will protect the intumescent coating against high humidity and other potentially harsh interior environmental conditions, while providing a smooth, attractive, architectural finish."

7/2/19       #7: Fire retardant finish ...
Shane

the statement above does prove a bit wordy...… flame control does indeed sell a topcoat for their clear/wood finish intumescents and in my experience from the few sources available for these types of coatings is it offers no real physical attritubutes, protection attributes or drying capability...…. the link the poster above me shared is for architectural intumescent coatings as well as opaque's.... those are generally for structural steel and never get touched by human hands.... different breed

7/2/19       #8: Fire retardant finish ...
Shane

forgot to note that most of tthose types of coatings are sprayed post installation as well...….it does work well for in shop production and finishing because of the dry times and packing issues.... it is not fun or easy

7/2/19       #9: Fire retardant finish ...
ron bryze

Website: http://www.ronbryze.com

Ask the architect if applying the coating to the back of the material would fill their requirement.

Ronb

7/5/19       #10: Fire retardant finish ...
Edward P Smith

Website: http://www.cottagesmith.net

I wonder if you could use fireproof mdf, such as medex as a core for veneer panels and make up everything as such.

7/7/19       #11: Fire retardant finish ...
Kevin

For what its worth:

I have spent a great deal of time researching this subject to reach a definite understanding over the course of the last 10 years doing large commercial jobs that require a "class A fire rating".

First i would like to point out that the application of "fire retardants" to wood requires certifications that cost alot of money, and they do not play nice with conventional finishes or the appearance the customer desires.

Second, if you buy a coating that is "class A" rated, and have all of the documentation in the world that shows that your coating meets or exceeds the requirements, it matters none when its applied to a substrate that is non compliant.

Sherwin williams provides a very thorough documentation of the classification of their coatings. This will cover the finishers ass.
But if the substrate does not meet an "a" flame spread/smoke index the product will fail to meet requirements when tested. These tests are not cheap. So if you are going to do it, do it right. Make sure the substrate meets an A rating and its not just "fire rated"

Alot of companies are stamping their sheet goods "fire rated" but do not advertise what its rated at. It could be rated "hazardous" for all we know but its been rated.

My advice for success in this matter:
Get some very good quality substrate that can handle the testing.
Get with sherwin williams to provide you a class a coating that meets your projectcs needs as well as all of the documentation to support.
Do not thin the product at all with anything for the test pieces (in some cases such as h66 pigmented conversion varnish you will need to actually roll it on because of the viscosity. This is no problem because they are testing its integrity not its appearance)
Let the finished test pieces sit for no less than 21 days to ensure all vapor has been expelled.
After you pass that test and have the documentation that your coatings are up to par, make sure the project manager keeps record of the results and passes that along.
After all the talking heads have been appeased, use the same coatings but use the normal production approach you would to achieve the desired finish.

Good luck. This is a very slippery slope alot of people are going nuts over when the culprit is not the finish but the understanding of the limitations of coatings.


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