Monday, July 16, 2007

Lead Paint

Junk picking treasures (May)

I have an obsession with (good) junk, as you all know. But I'm getting closer to the time that I need to begin refinishing a lot of the stuff I've picked up. Many of the things that I have I simply would like to put a good clear-coat on so the chipped, crackled paint is left untouched. But my biggest concern is the lead paint.

I know all about wearing the proper respirator mask (you never should use a basic dust mask) and coveralls (preferably disposable) etc...etc...when you sand anything with lead paint. You're also suppose to use a special vacuum sander. There are every kind of warning and detail for proper protection out there on the net. I've been doing my research. And I no longer have a desire to go through the sanding process thanks to all of the warnings out there!

But my thing is, what is the proper way to cover up lead paint? I'd like to put a clear coat on some and others I'd like to paint right over. There is some sort of bond that I can put on before hand, I think... Does anyone reading this know? I'd be willing to bet most of the painted junk I've picked up has lead. And I don't want to go through a million home testing kits. I'm just going to assume it all has lead and do the proper thing.

In one of the magazines, last year, there was a home featured that had crackled, chipped paint on almost all of the furniture. Needless to say, I loved it! The homeowner had simply stated that she had clear-coated everything. So that's where I got that idea. And now I'm thinking it might be safer to just paint over that which I was planning to strip. So long as it has enough coats for protection so that it doesn't wear down and the lead paint is exposed again. Because then you'd be dealing with the same problem again. (Bet you had no idea being a professional junk collector was such a dangerous job). ;)

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