I have a room with walls covered in 1X6″ wood paneling. Presently the wood is painted with what looks like very old, slightly glossy paint. The paint is in great shaped with no evidence of cracking or peeling but when I tested it for lead it was positive. What would be the best way to cover this up without sanding it first? The person at our local paint store suggested cleaning first with TSP and then using “fresh coat” primer ( I think its a Benj Moore). She said if that didn’t work maybe try a shellac.
Was wondering if anyone else had any suggestions. She also said if the primer stuck when I rubbed it with the back of my finger nail I would be okay. Does that sound right? Thanks in advance.
Replies
Shes right on the money . Clean and prime with oil primer .
Tim Mooney
I think the paint store advice and your approach is sound. Lead doesn't vaporize. It has to be injested or inhaled to be harmful. If you don't create any dust then there is no hazard. Washing the surface down is a good idea, and won't expose you to a hazard, so long as your kids don't play in the water. There are also chemical deglossers available so you wouldn't have to sand, but high adhesion primers, like BIN, adhere well to glossy surfaces anyway. The chemical deglossers are quite strong chemicals which require rubber gloves, safety goggles, and good ventilation.
I saw in an Ace Hardware store a lead-encapsulating paint. I've moved to a different part of the state so I can't get to the store to look up any more information on it. I'm sure you could find it somewhere. I don't believe it was an Ace brand, but a specialized paint for lead the store carried.
I did a Google search for "lead encapsulating paint" and came up with 2970 hits.
I have used the lead-encapsulating paint in my house, it goes on pretty well and is tintable to what ever color you want. The brand I used was Lead Block and I got it and a local paint store. You should be able to get it at any quality paint store. With children in the house I wanted something that was made for that purpose. It is really tough and almost rubberized so it can't be picked off by little hands or sharp toys.
http://www.epaintstore.com
The product is Child Guard and contains Bitrex which is bitter tasting. Price is $40 / gal.
Slightly off topic, but related:
It amazes me that so many people still think that the main source of lead ingestion by toddlers is by eating chips of the paint. This is probably our mental image of all those public sevice messages during the '70s, showing the ghetto kid eating the pieces of peeled-off paint off of his window sill.
Sure, little kids 'gum' everything in sight but the MAIN source of ingested paint comes from the DUST that is created by doors and windows sliding in their lead-painted frames, and from other sources of dust (like renovations, maintenence, insufficient clean-up after renovations, and so on). The kids pick it up off their toys and blankets and the carpets by their sticky fingers and open, gooey mouths, and that's how the dust gets into their systems.
You can not ingest lead by sucking on lead paint unless you are chewing it off.
There have been several studies done on the path of lead ingestion, and all of them that I have read made the point that DUST was the main source, rather than by sucking on painted surfaces or eating actual chips of the paint (also, most homes do not have actually peeling paint, and visible chips lying around in them).
Bitter tasting paint does not seem to be able to address the dust-ingestion path, I think.
Norm