How bad is lead paint? How do I deal with it?

We just got a nice cabinet which has chippy paint on it. It's really a neat piece but we did a lead test and it was positive. We've got kids and pets in the house so I wanted to ask advice.

I'm fairly certain that the whole "lead paint" thing has been blown completely out of proportion by the media and news outlets, and over-crazy parents.

That said - maybe I'm wrong. However, I'd like to use this piece in the house but I'm not sure how bad the lead paint situation is. Do I need to strip this piece? Or can I just run some steel wool over it to get the loose paint off and then brush shellac or something over top?

Don't worry about my feelings - if I'm not taking this as seriously as I should be - TELL ME!

Thanks in advance for any advice I get.

 

I tend to agree with you on the completely out of proportion aspect I think it's in the same vein as the asbestos dangers, unless your eating that paint or breathing asbestos constantly for a long time I don't get all that excited about either. But if you or your other half are all that concerned, strip it all off, repaint and enjoy.

 

Ron has it pretty right on. You either need to remove it, or encapsulate it in paint so it doesn't come off and get ingested.

 

The 2 main dangers of lead based coatings is ingesting the chips and inhaling the dust when sanded.
While encapsulation is acceptable, I'd go ahead and strip the piece since you already have failing paint.

 

Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to just steel wool the loose stuff off, then spray a clear coat over the remainder.

marksr - I was laughing when I read your response - the part where you said "since you already have failing paint". The "failing paint" is what my wife loves about it.

 

Maybe it's because I've been a painter my whole life but I've never really understood the fascination with the distressed look ..... but to each his own