Lead Paint

[tuppence]

I did a quick google but couldn't find what I was after. I bought this cute highchair mostly to put an old composition doll in, but now I find I am going to be a grandmother in December, I'm considering making it child safe.
I have dated the decals on the highchair to a Little Golden Book http://web.eecs.umich.edu/~srs/Ken/GoldenBooks/139_1952.jpg printed in '53, so I could assume without even testing the paint is Lead. I am wondering if painting over the paint or sealing it with several coats of varnish will make it safe for a baby.
And just what is Your general opinion on whether I should keep the original patina, just varnish over, or repaint. I can get reproductions of the original decals used.
Thanks in advance.

 

[tuppence]

 

[sheeplady]

You can test for lead paint buying a simple kit from a home improvement store.

Lead paint was used primarily in outdoor and heavy wear applications. Think floors, porches, siding, etc. due to its durability. Not all paint before 1978 had lead in it, and you cannot trust things painted post 1978 to NOT have lead. (There have been numerous reports of modern toys manufactured in China with illegal and unsafe amounts of lead in them. People also saved and used lead paint after 1978- it's not like everyone threw out all their paint in 1979.)

A case in point is our previous home built in 1942 does not have lead paint on the inside, and the walls and woodwork have always been painted. Most would assume that the house was covered In lead, but it was not because it would have been foolish to waste money on leaded paint for an interior application. (Now lots of people used left over exterior paint inside and some people chose to spend the bucks on durable lead paint for interiors, so....) This is why you NEED to test.

If it is lead, I would recommend stripping the piece using something like soy gel. I would not try to reseal it or paint over it. personally I would find that much much much too risky. It is fine to cover lead paint on a wall. But your grandkid is going to SIT AND EAT off this chair. If there is any lead dust not covered, they are going to be trapped there breathing poison. If any of the paint chips, lead paint is sweet tasting and they will eat it. Everytime the chair is wiped down, the potential for leeching lead dust is there.

I say this coming from a person who has always lived and worked with hideous amounts of lead paint. I am much more relaxed about it than the vast majority of people who panic about it and pull in the professionals, etc. But I *would not* leave lead paint on a child's item.

To summarize:
1. Test it.
2. If lead, strip the thing and finish how you want.

 

[sheeplady]

P.S. if it is lead, and you need stripping tips, please don't hesitate to ask. I've stripped a full kitchen full of cabinets, 1,500 square feet of flooring (with 1,500 left to go), and half a house of woodwork. I've used every method under the sun (except infared and disc sander) and all sorts of tools.

Likely it is a few coats of oil-based paint that will strip off with a heat gun or soy gel like butter in an hour or two.

But definitely test it.

 

[tuppence]

Thank You Sheeplady. Things might be a bit different here ( Australia) with the lead in paint situation. But I will get a test on it and strip it if it has any traces of lead; when it comes to babies and children. nothing is too much. I have never heard of soy gel, sounds interesting, don't know if I can get it instore, but looks like I can get it online.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Lead paint is harmless unless you eat it. Unfortunately, with children this is always a possibility. If the paint tests positive for lead do not just seal it or paint over it. Use it for a doll display but get a new one for the kids.

 

[vitanola]

The dangers of lead were pretty well known by the turn of the last century. There was an immense push-back in the scientific and medical community against the introduction of Tetraethyl Lead into motor fuel back in the 1920's which was eventually buried under a pile of DuPont's profits from the Great War. As noted earlier,mi terror paints seldom had much lead content, save for a bit of Litharge as a drier, but furniture such as yours was generally lacquered, with Nitrocellulose lacquers which were entirely bereft of this heavy metal, save for the whitest whites, which used white lead mixed with whiting.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Consumer's Union was publishing strong warnings about lead paint pretty regularly during the thirties and forties, and in its paint ratings emphasized in the strongest possible words that leaded paint should only be used for exterior purposes, and that it should never be used where children might be exposed to its dust. This seems to have been common knowledge by the forties, but again, you never know who used what to paint or repaint any particular item.

My own baby crib was painted wood, but had celluloid "chew guards" on the rails to prevent any possibilty of ingesting paint flakes.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Dupont's profits from WW1, ha ha there weren't any. They borrowed millions to build new plants for war production and when the war ended the government unilaterally cancelled millions of dollars worth of contracts with no compensation leaving them badly in the lurch. Then they came after them for income taxes on their non existent profits. Then they were denounced as war profiteers. This is why they refused to supply munitions during WW2, at least at first.

They did figure out new uses for their chemical plants, like making nitrocellulose lacquer for cars out of gun cotton.

We used to accept a lot of risks that scare the hell out of us today. Lead paint and leaded gas must have seemed trivial compared to the dangers of BB guns, polio, smoking and riding a motorcycle without a helmet.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Just an FYI on lead paint in Australia...it was common in all paints, interior and exterior, until the 1950's. So if your house was built before then, it's almost guaranteed to contain lead paint. However, the amount of lead began to decline pretty rapidly by the early 60's, and was pretty much completely a non-issue by 1970. But it's still not exactly banned in Australia, just highly limited and regulated.

 

[vitanola]

Dupont's profits from WW1, ha ha there weren't any. They borrowed millions to build new plants for war production and when the war ended the government unilaterally cancelled millions of dollars worth of contracts with no compensation leaving them badly in the lurch. Then they came after them for income taxes on their non existent profits. Then they were denounced as war profiteers. This is why they refused to supply munitions during WW2, at least at first.

They did figure out new uses for their chemical plants, like making nitrocellulose lacquer for cars out of gun cotton.

We used to accept a lot of risks that scare the hell out of us today. Lead paint and leaded gas must have seemed trivial compared to the dangers of BB guns, polio, smoking and riding a motorcycle without a helmet.

The truth of the matter is that DuPont holdings increased fourfold during the Great War,. They actually increased sixfold between 1914 and 1916. They did get in fact over expand after we got in to the war, and suffered considerable losses in the Depression of 1920-21, but they came out of the war much wealthier than they entered it. Remember that the early profits selling armaments to the Allies were what made it possible for DuPont to purchase their large stake in General Motors.

Alfred DuPont discusses these times quite candidly in his autobiographical notes. In fact, the supposed "War Profiteering" was on e of the principal reasons that he broke with his cousins and liquidated his stake in the family firm between 1925 and 1928, and went off on his own. Henry DuPont was cognizant of this charge, and did in fact position the firm so that it was able to profit during WWII from contracts for polymers, petrochemicals, tanks, machinery, and ordinance without specifically selling gunpowder.

 

[1930artdeco]

If your high chair does have lead paint-DON'T use a heat gun. If it vaporizes any paint guess what your breathing in. When I strip paint that I assume has lead in it I use a gel stripper and seal up the goop and paint in a can and dispose of it. If you have to sand make sure you use a respirator designed to filter out the lead/asbestos dust. What you may want to do is see if you can clear coat it. That way you keep it looking old but there is no way any of the original paint can get through the new paint. Just my two cents worth.

Mike

 

[tuppence]

Yes I fear Australian regulations were a lot more lackadaisical but couldn't find anything concrete about it.

Just an FYI on lead paint in Australia...it was common in all paints, interior and exterior, until the 1950's. So if your house was built before then, it's almost guaranteed to contain lead paint. However, the amount of lead began to decline pretty rapidly by the early 60's, and was pretty much completely a non-issue by 1970. But it's still not exactly banned in Australia, just highly limited and regulated.

 

[tuppence]

Thanks Mike, I've bought a test kit but been too busy to test, but I think I will follow Your advice, if it is lead.

If your high chair does have lead paint-DON'T use a heat gun. If it vaporizes any paint guess what your breathing in. When I strip paint that I assume has lead in it I use a gel stripper and seal up the goop and paint in a can and dispose of it. If you have to sand make sure you use a respirator designed to filter out the lead/asbestos dust. What you may want to do is see if you can clear coat it. That way you keep it looking old but there is no way any of the original paint can get through the new paint. Just my two cents worth.

Mike