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Τhe subject of fire retardancy through the use of protective coatings should be approached
a little to the right of center --that is, with cautious but definite enthusiasm.
As with so many other chemical developments, including plastics, medicines,
drugs, insecticides, soil conditioners, even chlorophyll, a favorable beginning for a
product that seems to meet a long-felt pressing need of the consuming public is soon
overpromoted. For fire-retardant paints, as for so many of these other badly needed
products, overpromotion can be more harmful than underpromotion. An example of
overpromotion is to claim absolute fireproofness for a product, and then rig a demonstration
that appears convincing. No paint film can be expected to withstand a fiery
holocaust for an extended period of time without yielding. Not even a sheet of steel,
many times thicker than the average paint film, could live up to such claims. If, in
addition, the so-called "fireproof" paint is deficient in a host of normal paint properties,
the public is doomed to disappointment. People are led to expect so much, and
then receive so little, even in this age of chemical miracles.
This matter of misleading and deceptive wording is extremenly important, not only
for the ad writer, but also for the chemist, the engineer, the underwriter, and the
author of a building code. The use of the term "fire-retardant" itself has confused
paint research. Fire-retardant action over steel is altogether different in principle
from fire-retardant action over wood or vegetable fiber wallboard. Is any one fire-
retarding agent to be preferred over another? It all depends on what you want to prevent
from becoming fuel to feed the flames - - is it the paint itself, or is it the construction
material underneath the paint?
It cannot be emphasized too strongly that dried paint films, instead of tending to
spread flame, actually retard it when compared with the same unpainted surface.
Therefore, it serves no good purpose for the purchaser of paint to consider replacing
all of his conventional painting with special fire-retardant coatings. For special uses
in hazardous areas where it is imperative to take all possible safeguards, such special
types of coatings have a definite utility.
Ordinary paints, particularly those with pigmentation intermediate between flat
and full gloss, possess a fair amount of fire retardance when exposed to conditions
existing during the first stages of a fire. This can be checked at a bonfire by throwing
on painted and unpainted boards, and observing which catches fire first and which
is consumed first.
Τhe subject of fire retardancy through the use of protective coatings should be approached
a little to the right of center --that is, with cautious but definite enthusiasm.
As with so many…