Painting a picture rail - possible lead paint

[alexeix]

Hi All,

I need to either repaint or replace the existing picture rail in the living room of my Victorian house, however, I'm concerned that it probably contains lead paint amongst the multiple layers.

The room has been recently skimmed, so it's going to damage the walls if I remove the picture rail - I want to avoid that.

If I sand the rail, then I may be releasing toxic dust containing lead into the inside of my house.

So, what are my options? I have a heat gun, so if I use that an a low setting and open the windows, would that be okay?

Any ideas/advice would be appreciated.
Cheers.

 

[emilybronte]

Defnitely do NOT use a hot air stripper, even on low heat, as this may release lead fumes which are highly toxic.

If you are convinced the exisiting paint needs to come off, then your best option is sanding gently by hand wearing a face mask so you do not breathe in any dust particles.

If the existing paint is sound and not too thickly built-up, then consider using Zinsser BIN as an undercoat (no sanding required) then an acrylic eggshell or whatever on top.

The other option of course is to replace the picture rails completely with new ones, then paint as desired. It would actually take less time to do this than strip or sand them and you are getting rid of the lead, of course. They come off quite easily; you'll need to mitre the new ones and attach to the walls , but that doesn't take long either. (Some builders would use No-Nails in orer to avoid nail marks!) We did this in an Edwardian house and the local timber merchant still stocked the same picture rail! Picture rail is not expensive.

 

[misterhelpful]

If you can get away with just sanding to achieve a good finish you should use wet and dry paper, used wet, as dry sanding will also release excessive dust into the air that will linger long after you have taken off your dust mask. The grade of paper will be determined by how rough or uneven the existing paint is, but aim to finish sanding with around 320-400 grit.
The safest option for stripping would be to use a chemical or water based paint stripper but unfortunately neither these are as good as the pre 2010 chemical strippers, unless you go to the top end of the price range.
Of course, as suggested, removal and replacement of the rail is a viable option but even chips of lead paint that are likely to fly around when it's being removed are still classed as a health risk so make sure they are cleaned up completely.

Whatever you choose, wear a mask.

 

[emilybronte]

Sorry, yes, I forgot to say use wet and dry and wet it!

Mrhelpful, would you even bother with chemical strippers with picture rails? Getting the paint out of all those grooves would be a chore, wouldn't it?

 

[misterhelpful]

Sorry, yes, I forgot to say use wet and dry and wet it!

Mrhelpful, would you even bother with chemical strippers with picture rails? Getting the paint out of all those grooves would be a chore, wouldn't it?

Indeed it would, but if alexeix was intending to fully restore an original feature, then the work would be worth it - a hundred odd years worth of paint can hide a lot of detail. Also, it is the safest method for stripping lead paint. As restoration doesn't appear to be the main intention then replacement would be simpler but it would be a pity to replace something original if it doesn't need replacing.

 

[alexeix]

Many thanks for all the replies!

I'm not going to replace the picture rails, because of the likely damage to the new plaster.

I don't fancy sanding, on account of the dust and the comments suggest that water-based, solvent-free paint strippers are not very good.

Apparently Nitromors will only remove something like one layer of paint at a time, so it'll take forever to do the picture rail.
Looks like overpainting with the suggested Zinsser BIN is the way to go, even though the detail will not be revealed!

Interestingly, the government web site which discusses this topic, suggests that using a heat gun on low power (just to soften up the paint), can be an effective way to strip lead paint, but I'd rather just cover it now.
Thanks again.