I'm having a wall removed in my kitchen and replacing it with a round column.
My Structural Engineer has detailed that we paint it with intumescent paint to give it 1.5 hours fire protection.
My builder informed me that intumescent paint has an unattractive and very lumpy finish.
Can someone suggest a more attractive alternative?
This is a very unusual request. you must have some unique building codes or you are a first floor owner with more floors above you. Normal supporting walls or columns don't have fire ratings in single family residential settings.
With that said, you may want to look at a steel post support covered with a split round column, or a fab on site square column. The facade is strictly for appearance and the steel post for support.
Stock approach is to paint the post as required, then hide it inside additional decorative (or better yet decorative and additional fire-proofing) material. A lower end example of this is a plasterboard box around the column.
