Hi all,

Hoping someone might be able to advise on this one, I'm getting mixed messages regarding Oil based vs Water based Paints and Varnishes on Fire doors and their frames. We've got existing varnished doors, white painted frames (notional FD30s) in a mid 80s development which I'm guessing are finished with oil based/polyurethane varnish/paint that we're looking to repaint/varnish

Seeing some info saying that doors and frames have to be finished in water based products in order to comply with regs which kind of makes sense, particularly for a brand new installation where you're starting from scratch, but doesn't make a lot of sense to me if you're going over existing oil based products.

The decorators preference is to use oil based over oil based for a longer lasting and more durable finish, just wondering if anyone had any thought or experience on the matter.

Thanks, Richard

Personally, I wouldn’t be too interested in a couple of coats of varnish.  The problem is when they are revarnished multiple times.

Check the certificate

Do not paint or varnish over intumescent seals, smoke seals, hinges, self-closers, labels/certification marks, or other fire-rated hardware

The Intumescent Fire Seals Association recommend that no more that five coats of oil based paint should be applied over intumescent edge seals. But none on smoke seals due to the detrimental effect of any paints to the brush/blade. Contact ifsa.org.uk for information.