Fire doors and protected steel carry an intumescent layer that must stay intact for the protection to work. Redecorating them is routine, but it needs a specific approach so the finish coat does not compromise what is underneath it.
Intumescent paint or board looks like an ordinary coating until heat activates it, so treating it as if it were standard filler or gloss is the risk. We identify what system is in place before deciding how to prepare or overcoat it.
Most manufacturers publish which decorative topcoats are compatible with their intumescent basecoat in terms of build and type. We follow the documented build-up for that door or steel section rather than substituting a coating because it happens to be on the van.
On fire doors especially, we keep a simple record of what was found, what was applied and where, so the responsible person for the building has evidence of what changed at redecoration.
Yes, provided the existing intumescent system is identified first and the topcoat build matches what is documented for that door — we treat these as a distinct scope, not a standard door.
Only lightly, to key the surface. Aggressive sanding can remove protective thickness, so we work carefully and monitor how much material is being taken off.
We flag this rather than guess. Where the history is unclear, we recommend the building's fire safety adviser confirms the specification before further coats are added.
Share your fire door schedule and we will plan the redecoration around the protection already in place.
Fire doors and protected steel can be redecorated safely, but only by respecting the build-up already there.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
