Princess Theatre

The refurbishment of the historic Princess Theatre in Torquay, Devon is now complete, with Zinsser supplying a range of its paint products for the project. The theatre, which is classed as a touring theatre, is undergoing a radical transformation, with fire precaution a major issue. To this end, the fire-proofing of the wood panelling in the main auditorium used paints and coatings from the Zinsser range to provide not only a decorative finish, but also a long-term protective one.

What was required

“The wood panelling in the main auditorium is a major attractive feature,” comments Steve Woodroffe of painting contractors, Torbay Decorating Company Ltd, working for main contractors, ROK. “Years of exposure without proper treatment had caused it to look dull and deteriorated, and the decision to decorate was taken with both aesthetics and safety in mind, with particular reference to fire precautionary properties.

The best Zinsser product for the job

• “SealCoat™ from Zinsser is a shellac universal sanding sealer, compatible with all clear wood finishes. Its value lies not only in its protective qualities, but also in its extremely fast drying formulation, allowing it to be recoated in minutes.
• It also prevents solvents in new coatings destroying existing finishes. Zeroflame Matt Clear Varnish was applied over the SealCoat™ to provide a perfect, beautiful, even rich finish to the panelling.
• Zeroflame Matt has the added advantage of restricting the spread of flame and reducing the contribution that the substrate would normally make in the event of fire. The varnish has been specifically formulated to expand in fire to form an insulating layer of noncombustible rigid foam which stops the spread of flames over the surface.
• Zeroflame Matt Clear Varnish was applied over the SealCoat™ to provide a perfect, beautiful, even rich finish to the panelling.

The results

“Now that the theatre is completed, everyone is delighted with the result,” continues Steve. “This is the first time that we have used the Zeroflame Matt varnish, but it performs to the required performance specification in terms of spread of flame and provides an aesthetically pleasing finish to the wood panelling, and we shall be using it for future projects.