Fire retardant clothing spray?

[Tracy Gillan]

 Hey guys,

 

I was hoping someone on this list might have some insight to this…I have heard people talk about fire retardant spays to put on your clothing. I was curious if anyone knew about this and where to get some?

 

Please advise!

--Tracy

[mcmanus tara]

Good question! I did some research and it seems like the sprays are not great for your skin, everyone is different but there is a chance of getting a rash from the sprays. I know of two brands, fire block and flame shield, neither one say they are for clothes but they do mention uniforms. I would do a test on a pc of fabric, let it dry and then rub it on your skin. And just like duvy, dont get it wet! good luck!

[Tracy Gillan]

Yeah I saw that one tara... I also found this one that it was good for "fabrics" but I was not sure if it what I am looking for....

 

http://www.amazon.com/No-Burn-Fabric-Fire-Spray-32-Ounce/dp/B002TKLD14/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1296768403&sr=8-2

[Benjamin Bartelle]

Spray on fire retardant is usually boric acid, also used as an insecticide. I know that sounds nasty, but it isn't. It apparently gets in cockroaches joints to paralyze them so as long as you don't have an exoskeleton you are safe. It is a bit acidic though, on par with dilute vinegar, plus long term studies where they fed it to dogs showed some testicular atrophy so I wouldn't put it on your underwear.
You can get it on amazon or at a hardware store.

Here are step by step instructions for using to fireproof something with boric acid:
Dissolve the boric acid in warm water
Dip your fabric in the solution
Dry the fabric
Don't wash it
Dance with fire!


Fun fact: Boric acid turns flame a yellow green color.

To learn more about boric acid or testicular atrophy consult your local internet!

B

On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 10:17 AM, Tracy Gillan <tracy...@gmail.com> wrote:

--
From the future

Ben

[Claire Smith]

I tried this on curtains once.... it kind of left them looking white & ashy.  Maybe the warm water would make it work better, I don't know.

[Benjamin Bartelle]

Somebody expressed concern to me off list about Boric acid being a skin and eye irritant. So the internet tells us, but then again so is table salt and shampoo. Anyway, empiricism is the only way to really know, and I happen to have some on my shelf. About an hour ago I put a saturated solution of boric acid on a paper towel and put it on my left arm to dry while I work. It's dry now and my arm feels a bit crusty, but otherwise fine, comparable to a day at the beach.

I also have used it on a jumpsuit with only my skivvies on underneath. My sweat probably dissolved a lot of the boric acid onto my skin and since it was Burning man I didn't shower before bed. I did notice my skin was a bit itchy the next morning, but it could have been all of the methanol and numerous other metal salts I was using for colored flame effects, or the many burns from setting my skin on fire, or the powdered magnesium I was throwing at people's fire art with my bare hands, or the other kind of acid.(I am not a role model) After brunch, I took a spraybottle shower and felt fine again.

Boric acid forms a salty coating over your fabric, and it has a low PH. It might itch in your more tender areas after a while. Again, this something you would put on the outer layer of a costume, not a g string.

I'll let you know if this crusty patch gets itchy and put the results of this experiment on the Sparkworks blog.

Ben

On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 8:19 PM, Benjamin Bartelle <ben.fut...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Benjamin Bartelle]

OK I'm tired of having a crusty arm. Boric acid on the arm trial ended after 10hours. It did itch a little from time to time, again on par with going swimming in the ocean and not rinsing off the salt water.

Your mileage may vary.

Ben

[Darrin Marion]

Not sure if this is still a valid question or not, but I found a non-toxic version of a fire retardant spray. It's made by National Fireproofing Supply.