A Comparison of Fire Resistance in Commercial and Formulated Paints

Overview

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the fire resistance of different types of paint and evaluate how a formulated fire resistant paint performs compared to common commercial paints. It was hypothesized that the formulated fire resistant paint would show greater fire resistance than acrylic craft paint and latex wall paint, but lower fire resistance than high temperature paint. Fifty identical wooden panels were prepared, with ten panels assigned to each paint type: acrylic, latex, high temperature, oil based, and formulated fire resistant paint. The formulated paint was created by mixing water based latex paint with a fire retardant additive. Each panel was coated with 5 grams of paint, dried for 24 hours, and exposed to a heat source positioned 10 cm away for up to 120 seconds. The time to first visible damage, mass loss, and a damage score were recorded for each trial. Results showed that the formulated fire resistant paint had the lowest average mass loss and lowest damage score. It reduced mass loss by approximately 83.9 percent compared to acrylic paint. The hypothesis was partially supported because the formulated paint outperformed both acrylic and latex paints and also showed greater fire resistance than high temperature paint.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Product Science (Junior Division) · Entry J-19-08

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