Lead-Safe Interior Painting in Old Torrance Homes

A fine chalky dust on a windowsill that comes back a day after wiping is the first sign of failing old paint. In Torrance, CA, painting inside a house built in the early 1900s in Old Torrance means treating that dust as a possible lead hazard, and the figures kept at torrance painting contractor burnside writers collective begin with testing before any scraping. Homes of that age were painted with lead-based products long before such paint left the market for houses.

Test before touching

Swab test kits give a quick answer on a painted surface, and a certified lab sample gives a firm one. Windows, door casings, baseboards and the lower part of walls are tested first, because friction surfaces wear the paint into dust. A negative swab on one layer does not clear the layers underneath, so the test cuts through to the oldest coat.

Containment in a lived-in room

Plastic sheeting is taped over floors and doorways, and the room's heating or air returns are covered so dust cannot travel. Work clothes stay in the work area. Dry sanding and open flame heat guns are not used on painted surfaces suspected of containing lead. Wet scraping with a spray bottle keeps chips and dust heavy enough to fall onto the plastic.

Prep that does not make dust

Sanding is done wet, or with a sander attached to a vacuum fitted with a HEPA filter. Loose paint is scraped back to a firm edge and the edge is feathered with a wet sanding sponge, then closed with spackle where the step is still visible. Friction parts such as double hung window channels may need to be sealed with an encapsulating coat, or the sashes replaced, because paint on a sliding surface will wear again.

Primer, topcoat and sealing the old layers

Intact old paint that is tightly bonded can be left in place and covered. A bonding primer goes over it, followed by two coats of acrylic latex, which builds a film thick enough to lock the old layers underneath. Satin or semi gloss on trim makes later wet cleaning easy, which keeps dust from accumulating on those surfaces.

Cleanup and clearance

Cleanup uses a HEPA vacuum and wet wipes, in that order, several times. Plastic is folded inward so debris stays inside the fold, then bagged. Floors are wiped until a white cloth comes away clean. Households with young children or anyone pregnant leave the house or stay out of the work area until cleanup is done. A Torrance homeowner planning this work should expect the testing and cleanup to take nearly as many days as the painting itself.