Chris wrote:
I am removing paint off the woodwork in my 80 year old house.. I tried
Soygel but it is such a freaking mess, espiecally when I am working on
the bannister with a curved surface on the handrail.. scraping is a
real PIA.. and a lot of stuff is left behind which I have to go back
over and over it seems..

A friend at work told me about using a heatgun and how fast he did his
window sills in his bathroom.. I went and got a cheap one.. I got it
home, and wow.. I stripped off two coats of paint off of one side of a
door frame in no time..

Now the fine print...

I am suspecting I have latex paint over lead paint.. when I work I
have three fans running, one of which it an exhaust fan in a window..
they say to use the low setting if suspecting lead paint, but hardly
works.. The high setting, and I am rolling along.. If I am wearing a
particle mask/respirator, will I be ok? I HEPA vac when I am done (the
carpet is going soon anyway)

I am gonna get one of those lead test kits from Lowes.. hell.. if it
is negative, I will have been worrying for nothing..

You're worrying for nothing anyway. Lead poses two principle dangers:

1. To children exposed for long periods, and
2. To goblins who get shot.

Like asbestos, the hazards are overblown. Common sense neatness should be
appropriate.