Intumescent paint is a fire-protective coating that swells into a thick insulating char when exposed to extreme heat. That char layer slows how fast fire moves through structural elements like steel, buying more time for evacuation. It’s a specialized coating used for safety compliance in commercial and multi-family buildings.
These coatings are applied to exact thicknesses and documented for code compliance, since their performance depends on the coverage achieving its rated protection. Projects needing them get coordinated with fire code requirements from the start rather than treated as an afterthought.