Warning: Check your old furniture for lead paint before you sand it

I was refinishing a dresser I found on the curb last weekend and tested it with a $10 lead swab from the hardware store. Turned out the paint was 30% lead by weight according to the EPA guidelines on the box. How many of you actually test old pieces before you start working on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_barnes1mo ago

30% lead by weight? That's insane, glad you tested it first.

patriciamoore1mo ago

THIRTY PERCENT lead by weight? I had to read that twice @nathan_barnes because that is absolutely INSANE. I always test stuff before I sand it because I got sick once from not testing an old chair and it scared me straight. The EPA says anything over 1% is hazardous so 30% is like breathing in a lead factory. I bet that dresser was from the 1940s or earlier when they put that stuff in everything like it was candy. Please please please wear a good respirator and seal up your work area if you haven't already. I would not even sand that indoors, I'd do it outside with a tarp down.