Ventilation for stripping lead paint

[AMCLS1]

Hello all,

I have a room in my house with approximately 20 linear metres of original Victorian skirting board, it’s been painted many times over the years, badly, unfortunately.

I’ve stripped approximately 1.5 m and it was quite a gruelling task especially since my FFP2 mask was probably not correct for the job since the paint is almost certainly full of lead.

My idea is to rent, from HSS, an extraction fan along with some ducting and also buy a proper respirator so I can do the job properly with my heat gun.

the window doesn’t open unfortunately as, you guessed it, it’s been painted shut along with all the beautiful architrave hence my requirement to duct the fumes.

Really I’m after peoples opinions, good idea or overkill? I’ve included an image of my handy work so far, needs a lot of sanding before I fill and primer it all before painting.

 

[Tigercubrider]

I wouldn’t do anything to get lead particles or fumes into the air.
Look at chemical strippers first.
They have the benefit of being wet, so much less contamination

 

[AMCLS1]

Thanks, I’ll look into those as a first port of call now.

 

[Tigercubrider]

https://refinishsystems.com/product...pRJqRkViClQBn9189UrIJ0jexGpIHqyMaAuFSEALw_wcB

 

[opps]

As long as you are not "burning" the paint, using a heat gun isn't a problem.

My bigger concern is you using a sander that is not connected to a suitable (read: any) dust extractor (read: attached ((suitable)) vaccuum cleaner.

As a professional decorator, I have never quite understood why people feel compelled to burn paint off. I generally treat the 100 years of paint as "filler" that can be sanded back to provide a flat base.

Sorry, that wasn't intended as a criticism. It was a clumsy way of saying that if the 100 year old paint is sound, but has a few dinks, just use two pack filler to fill the dents.

Removing paint often damages the surface and requires a lot of remedial work, and it is often messy

 

[AMCLS1]

As long as you are not "burning" the paint, using a heat gun isn't a problem.

My bigger concern is you using a sander that is not connected to a suitable (read: any) dust extractor (read: attached ((suitable)) vaccuum cleaner.

As a professional decorator, I have never quite understood why people feel compelled to burn paint off. I generally treat the 100 years of paint as "filler" that can be sanded back to provide a flat base.

Sorry, that wasn't intended as a criticism. It was a clumsy way of saying that if the 100 year old paint is sound, but has a few dinks, just use two pack filler to fill the dents.

Removing paint often damages the surface and requires a lot of remedial work, and it is often messy

Thanks for the reply.

it’s more so because the layers of paint are so thick and badly applied that the top of the skirting has a built up effect that makes it look really messy and poor against the original plaster, which we intend to keep. Having said that taking the image below this is the worst area the plaster is all blown behind the paper so I’ll have that replaced anyway.

My plan was to spend a lot of time filling and sanding and I was intending to hire a proper sander with connected extraction should I decide to go down that route however so far it’s 2 votes against so there is always that.

 

[opps]

I would sand them back until they become flat. That said, you will end up with a greater volume of dust (something you want to avoid).

BTW, although I would use the paint stripper recommended by Tigercubrider, be advised that it contains methyl chloride. MC paint strippers were removed from sale to the general public because MC is carcinogenic. Unfortunately, the vast majority of paint strippers marketed to the general public are rubbish.

A particularly good MC free stripper is PeelAway 1

https://www.peelaway.co.uk/130/peelaway-1

You apply it and then cover the paste with a film overnight. The next day (or later) when you remove the film the paint should be stuck to the film. It is a waterbased alkali. The downside is the cost

https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/product/barrettine-peelaway-1

Oh, and here is a link to the H&SE website regarding working on old lead paint. They recommend a maximum temperature of 500 degrees C for heat guns.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/hazardous-substances/lead.htm

From memory, your heat gun has a max temperature of 500 degrees.