DIY Fireproof Paint Experiments: Can Household Materials Protect from Fire?

Testing Fire Resistance with Household Materials

• 🏠 Tiny houses were constructed to test various coatings for fire resistance, with the goal of protecting Pokémon card packs inside.
• 🧪 The experiment aimed to find the antithesis to flammable materials by testing what would not burn, using identical houses with different protective coatings.

Initial Coatings and Their Performance

• 🪵 A bare wood house served as the control, showing expected failure with no protection.
• 🎨 A standard latex paint coating offered minimal protection, with the corners melting and the packaging melting onto the cards.
• 🧪 A mixture of baking powder, water, white glue (PVA), and dish soap created a unique coating, though initial hopes were not high.
• 🧱 Joint compound mixed with water showed promise by blocking heat well until it cracked, but did not ultimately win the initial round.

Advanced Fire Retardant Solutions

• 🇦🇺 A DIY solution inspired by Australian brush fire protection was created using warm water, borax, boric acid, and a sodium silicate top coat.
• 🧴 A commercial fire retardant treatment was also tested for comparison against the DIY and household solutions.
• 🏆 The DIY solution, utilizing 1800s chemistry, surprisingly outperformed the commercial treatment by causing charring instead of burning and significantly slowing the fire.

Final Showdown: DIY vs. Baking Powder Mixture

• 🔥 In a final test, the DIY solution was pitted against the baking powder, water, glue, and soap mixture to determine the ultimate winner.
• 💥 The DIY solution experienced fire breakthrough on the inside, leading to the Pokémon cards catching fire, while the baking powder mixture held up better.
• ✅ The baking powder, water, glue, and soap mixture was declared the winner for its superior fire resistance in this experiment.