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Community and Q&A

Product to safely encapsulate small amount of lead paint

2014green | Posted in GBA Pro Help on

Hi There!

Our house (recently moved in) has two old lamposts (the story is they are from Brooklyn) that are used as support columns in the kitchen. We had them tested for lead paint. Only the base came up with positive results. So posts are probably 12 inches in diameter. The amount that showed lead paint was probably 1.5 feet high on each post. The rest of the posts seem to not have lead because you can tell the paint has been remove and replaced more completely (there are more layers of paint at the bottom where it registered positive for lead).

We are debating all of the following and would LOVE any opinions to help decide what is the best thing to do to contain the lead:

1) leave it and paint some type of encapsulator over it (I’ve seen a few — LeadLock? ChildGuard? other product recommendation?)

orĀ 

2) remove it (using maybe a Dumond product made to safely remove lead called Peel Away) and try to have it repainted to match it’s historical look without the lead paint.

Does anyone have advice on which option to choose and also good products to use? Especially if we are going with option 1 I want to find something with low VOCs that won’t hurt the indoor air quality as the rest of the house is all low voc.

thank you!!!!!!

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Replies

  1. charlie_sullivan | | #1

    Are they something you can temporarily remove, maybe with some 2x4s in their place temporarily? If so, you might take them out, strip the bottom, and then reinstall. Otherwise I'd be inclined to encapsulate but I'm afraid I don't know what product to recommend.

    1. 2014green | | #2

      Thanks so much for the reply and idea. They are weight bearing in the middle of the house. So, it could be done but would be a major ordeal which we are trying to avoid. We may even encapsulate for now but remove them in the future when we can be away from our home for a few weeks.

      If anyone knows of a "healthy" or "safe" product to encapsulate please let me know!

  2. Expert Member
    MALCOLM TAYLOR | | #3

    Melinda,

    Almost every big-box or paint store sells acrylic-based lead encapsulating coatings. I don't think there is much to choose between them. Here is one example: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/ecobond-lbp-5-gallon-lead-based-paint-sealant-and-treatment-latex-primer/1000807474

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