I have searched the forum, and couldn't find any info on this. I am going to be sanding my 1951 Pontiac to bare metal, and I wanted to know if they used lead paint on 1950's GM cars. Any info would be appreciated.
I don't want my family to breathe the dust if it has lead in it. It causes brain damage in children. Read the section on health effects of lead. http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm#health
you should be wearing a dust mask no matter what kind of paint, all paint dust makes you go crazy, when was the last time you seen an old body man that wasnt crazy!! If its original paint it would be lacquer.
GM cars of the 50's and 60's wore lacquer paint. I've never heard of lead being an issue in automotive paint.
I'll have to take that into consideration. Thanks for the info. Maybe I will move it out of the garage to sand it. I will continue to wear a respirator.
What is your source of information? We have not had any lead in any paint in California for almost 35 years! Not trying to start a fight, but I'd like to know where you got your information, and if it is factual.
Most likely the original primer will have lead in it. There is a lot of other bad stuff in paint anyway. No matter what you do keep your kids away from it. Do it outside, wear a dust mask, clean up after, blow away all residue. Take a shower to clean up as soon as you can. Washing down the work area when you are finished would be a good idea. Might sound like overkill but it does not hurt to be cautious. RodP
When my guys were scraping the paint off my brother's 100 yr. old house they used respirators and caught the debris with tarps, then bagged it and sent it to the land fill. If you are that concerned about it I would think you wouldn't even want it in your soil where your kids might play.
If you sand it outside and are careful, the lead will be on the ground. If it's that much of a concern, you should construct a plastic room with 2x4 and sheet plastic, strip the car in there then carefully( as to not create flying particles) move the car out and haul off the dissassembled room. You could take it to a paint stripper that uses walnut shells or baking soda and have them strip it. No lead particles on the home front. Are you conserned about the urethane primer you are going to be spraying on it and the disease inducing agents that will be in the air around your place then? Maybe a catylitic converter on the exhaust to help reduce emissions.... Jus kidding -matbe.
There are plenty of other heavy metals in pigments of all types and they shouldn't be ingested. There are cheap test kits for lead -- sand some paint off down to metal and test the dust that comes off. Washing down the driveway doesn't cure the problem if there is one. HEPA vacuum cleaner with real bags or a HEPA insert for your shop vac lets you put it in the landfill.
I am not an environmentalist by any means. I just want to be cautious as I begin my build. If I can do a few things to reduce unnecessary exposure of lead for my children, I will do it. I figured since the members of this site work around old vehicles all the time, you all would have good information regarding lead paint.
I've been curious about this myself- I'm more concerned about asbestos though- I know about brake linings and stuff but what about vintage interior ? I don't mean to hijack this thread but I'm kinda curious no one mentioned it already...
Great then it will leach into the water table, I guess that's sharing. There is also the lead seams to worry about. Wear a respirator. Clean up the mess.
Don't worry about it zman. You are on the east coast, and I am almost west coast. Your water should be fine.
You have the right attitude about this subject. It takes no longer to do it the cautious way than it does to go the "hack and wack" route. As said by others in this thread, there are lots of bad things to breath during the prep and paint process, in fact, there is literally nothing involved in the body/paint process that wont cause some degree of harm if you breath it, so you need to educate yourself as throughly as you can to protect yourself and family. No matter how jokingly some guys view this subject, it is a serious health risk. Joking about the crappy parts of building old cars is good...gotta look at the humorous side of things as much as possible, so accept the lighthearted comments for what they are and accept the chemicals for what they are.... I started painting in the early 60's and paid little attention to the risks for many years..... No one will ever be able to tell me that breathing this shit is no big deal...... You can avoid a lot of the dust problem by using a liquid striper. there are several types of stripers that are safer to use than the old stuff we had that would eat a hole through anything it came in contact with. Place the car over a plastic tarp and do one panel at a time and you should be able to control the mess pretty easily. Wash each panel with thinner outside with plenty of ventalation. Use a respirator (not a dust mask) for the sanding, and you should be able to get to bare metal with little or no risk to the kids. The best option, as far as I'm concerned, is to take it to a media blaster that uses soda or walnut shells. Don't know where you live or what the going rate is there, but usually for around a grand or less you can get a typical car blasted. You'll spend a few hundred and a shit load of time doing it yourself with striper/sandpaper, etc...... Visit your local paint store. Any of the major paint labels are good. They all make first and second lines of materials that all work well when the directions are followed. The guy behind the counter is SUPPOSED to know the product they sell... If he don't and there is no one there that can help you, go somewhere else. They will have lots of printed info regarding the safety issues as well as info about how to use and apply the materials. Might also find a paint seminar or two in your area that would be well worth your while to attend. Rich
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