On Fri, 7 Jun 2013 20:24:03 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
wrote:

On Tuesday, June 4, 2013 3:04:17 PM UTC-7, nestork wrote:
;3073536 Wrote:



If the paint isn't white, it's possible there is no lead as the lead

in MOST house paint was a white pigment.



I wouldn't be telling people that because they'll think that if it isn't

white, it won't contain lead.



It's true that lead *carbonate* was commonly used as a white pigment in

house paints prior to 1974, but lead *chromate* was commonly used as a

deep yellow pigment as well. And lead *oxide* was a red pigment

commonly used in metal primers.



And, not only were both lead carbonate and lead chromate used in the

coloured tint bases that were commonly available from paint

manufacturers back then, but both lead carbonate and lead chromate were

also used as pigments in the colourants in paint tinting machines. So,

if a paint tint formula called for any white or deep yellow colourant in

it, then lead carbonate or lead chromate would have been added to the

paint when tinting it to it's final colour.



So, while it might not be obvious that a turquoise blue colour paint

would contain a lot of lead, they way they would have made such a colour

is by mixing blue, yellow and white colourants, and the yellow and white

colourants could very well have been lead chromate and lead carbonate,

respectively. And, in that case, there's a fair bit of lead in that

turquoise paint.



But, I concede that paints that are white-ISH and yellow-ISH in colour

are the ones most likely to have the most lead based pigments in them.



And, it's also true that lead pigments are of the most danger to young

children because their rapidly growing bodies incorporate the lead they

ingest into their bodies. In mature adults, our bodies are not growing

any more, and we just poop that lead out.



'Lead paint - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia'

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_paint)



'Lead(II,IV) oxide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia'

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_tetroxide)

Thanks to all who offered advice

Let's get off the lead angle and back to methods of getting down to concrete. The last few years' layers are no-lead paint per California law. And there are no kids in the house.

I did say initially that I probably couldn't afford to rent a grinder to strip paint back to the concrete. And finding a handyman who has his own grinder sounds unlikely.

One of the other alternatives -- putting a coat of ? over the whole porch is still in contention. I asked for name of best product; would still like your recommendations.

I did a trial run of stripper (Jason) Possibly do-able? It was the last of a can, so I couldn't put it on too thick. Now got another large can (also need to do wood back porch) and will try again.

TIA for your help.

HB









--

nestork
I'd strip it, pressure wash it, patch any serious divots, and cover
it with FlexRock. Sold by Home Hardware here in Canada - sure to be
something equivalent south of the border.