I'm new to Arts & Crafts Society forum, very happy to have found you all!

I saw a posting by Shawn back in Feb. of 05 about using burlap on walls, he got some great feedback on it, but I wonder if one must flame proof the burlap before applying, or is it treated afterward, once up on the wall?

I have used burlap many times in theatrical application, and find the commercial flame retardants used therein extremely noxious.

someone suggested painting the finished wall with polyurethane. Anyone have any experience with this?

thanks! Stephanie

Hello Stephanie,
First welcome to the Arts and Crafts Society Forums and as you know by now the answer I gave you in my reply to your email.

Now so as not to leave the rest of the folks on these forum dumbfounded, following is the answer I placed in your email reply;

Hello Stephanie,
Thank you for your email and to begin with I myself used to build props and scenery for stage shows as well as TV background drops that were raised and lowered between scenes.

We used tons of burlap in the construction of these scenes and at no time did we ever put polyurethane or any combustible products on these scenes. What we did do was to use water based paint and soaked the burlap in a fire resistant solution and allowed them to dry well before applying any type of paint.
The secret is in preparation of the materials used which included the wood frames that the scenery was screwed to by applying the fire resistant materials to have a safe and secure stage set.

I forget which one we used at this moment but you can find out by contacting any quality paint store. Take note, this is not a cure all for fires and or the use of some of the fireworks effects that some bands and other theater groups use during their plays or concerts because everything is subject to catch on fire and the main thing is to retard the spread of said fire to a minimum. Always have fire extinguishers set in every 15 foot of lineal stage areas with in the set.

I hope this information has helped you and feel free to email me at any time should you have a question. I still design sets for stage plays and in a manner that they can be quietly moved without being heard by the audience.

So there you have it friends, this was the method used for many a year at different places including TV sets that we watch every day.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones