What are the advantages and disadvantages of fire-resistant exterior paint for a wood-sided house? Any special advice for painting T-111 plywood with this kind of paint?
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Bryan,
That's an interesting question. Aside from the obvious difference in cost, here are some observations:
Fire resistant is almost a misnomer. It won't stop the fire, just slow down the process of burning. Your best bet is to reduce fuel near the structure. Keep things such as plants, trees and shrubs out in the yard and away from the house. The fire resistant coatings work well, but are not cheap. If the fire is hot enough, the coating won't stand up for very long, we're talking minutes. An alternative siding product is Hardy Board, it's not fireproof, but stands up better than T-111.
If, at the end of the day, you want to use fire resistant paint, the substrate (siding) needs to be primed with either a FR alkyd (bare wood) or a FR Acrylic (pre painted) primer. Once that is done, you can top coat with the fire resistant paint.
Check out http://www.flamecontrol.com for coatings and primers. I hope this helps.