The Do's and Don'ts of Fire Retardant Products

You want to protect your home or commercial building from the threat of fire. You're already on the right track! You will find paint, foams, and other products to do this. Before you get too far into shopping, let's ensure you know all you can about these products. This way, you're more likely to find the right product for your exact needs.

DO...

Look for fire retardant products for all your substrate needs. Fire retardant sprays, foams, and paints are available for virtually any surface including wood, fabrics, steel, drywall, and plastic. That's right, you can even make wood fire resistant!

DO...

Always test a small area first. You need to make sure the product works correctly, meaning it penetrates into the substrate and does the job at hand. Yes, you get to paint or spray a little bit and then light it on fire! Apply flame to the surface for 12 seconds and then watch to see if it self-extinguishes in 2 seconds. This is generally referred to as the “12/2 Test.”

DO...

Shop online! RDR Technologies specializes in fire retardants, fire suppressants, and several other specialty chemicals. It is our mission to provide you with the best fire protection, which means purchasing the right products for the application and substrate. We know you'll be able to find exactly what you're looking for on our website. Then, we'll ship it to you!

DON'T…

Expect the product to be completely fireproof. Fire resistance is not the same thing as being unable to catch on fire. Flame resistant or fire resistant materials are designed to prevent the spread of fire and withstand heat. Flame resistant materials should self-extinguish once the source of ignition is removed. These fire retardant materials are chemically treated to be slow burning or self-extinguishing when exposed to an open flame. Given a certain amount of time and heat level, anything will burn eventually. What fireproof and fire resistant products do is give you time.

DON'T...

Use the wrong product on the wrong substrate. There's a reason these products are designed specifically for each substrate, like fire retardant fabric spray. The flame retardant you would use to treat raw wood is not the same product you would use to treat cotton.

We encourage you to browse our website in order to find the exact product or products you're looking for. While we can't make it impossible for something to catch a flame, our products will drastically improve the amount of time you have to react to the danger of fire. The difference even a few minutes makes can be huge when it comes to putting out a fire and stopping it's damage. A few minutes can make all the difference between getting everyone out in time and having the fire department arrive or a catastrophe.