painting over lead paint


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Old 08-30-04, 10:45 AM
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painting over lead paint

I have removed wallpaper which I believe dates to the 1960's so the paint that is on the wall is most likely lead-based. There are quite a few dings in the wall which will have to be spackled. Should I paint all potential spackle areas with primer so that any sanding of the spackle will not sand off lead based paint? And then after this is painted and spackled, sand, and prime the whole wall before painting the real paint. Or does it not matter that I sand a bit of lead based paint when I sand the spackled area?

thanks in advance or your response.
 
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Old 08-30-04, 11:41 AM
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If the paint has lead in it, there is not much concern for small amounts of lead from sanding. Wear a disposable respirator, and keep sanding to a minimum. What is better is to use lightweight joint compound for spackling and sand it with a damp sponge. This will cut the joint compound without abrading the wall. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA rated filter in it, and you should have it covered. Children are the ones primarily at risk from ingesting lead.

You can get a lead testing kit from the hardware store for a couple of dollars, to be sure.

If you like, you could prime the entire wall anyway to improve the bonding of the new paint. That is the benefit of primer in the first place. Once the spackling is complete, prime over it to ensure that the paint looks uniform.

Hope this helps.
 
 

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