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i started removing paint with nasty paint remover, worked but several coatings,i have a heat gun i used fot inside varnish, but was really slow, the heat would blister paint,, then i would scrape . i started thinking about my small hand held torch,, well it worked great, i could remove white paint without going through primer although i will sand primer off and start afresh, . one thing that really was nice is as i was heating the paint once in awile a small black spot would show up ,, as i scraped away if there was any damaged wood , water penetration,, because of the fibers being weak .. it would flare up and the primer in that area would be marginal and discinigrate ,, not any bad depth to it but i wouldnt have seen the decay starting if the primer was still intact as with stripper ,, i would scrape around darkened area ,,usually about an inch, and sollid non effected wood would show up ,,, meening now i know what small areas need attention , so i am saying if primer looks good you still might have something going on underneith,, about 35 small spots on each side,, of boat mike :

This is my first time on this forum in a while, so I hope I'm not beating an already-dead horse here....

I'm working on a 1957 Sea Lancer, and when I began removing the paint from my hull, I started by sanding. It then occurred to me that I might be dealing with lead paint, given the age of the boat (and the simple fact that it's a wooden boat). I bought a simple "Lead Check" test kit from the big box hardware store for just a few bucks, and sure enough, the original paint on the boat is lead-based. I think it's safe to assume the same for EVERYONE's boat, since lead paint wasn't outlawed even for residential use until 1978.

As a professional residential remodeling contractor, I've recently had to get certified by the EPA due to new regulations regarding lead paint handling in houses. I've "found religion" on the toxicity of lead and how it gets into our bodies. It's really, really nasty stuff. I hate to say this, but the methods you describe are exactly those that put lead in your body. You're creating lead fumes and lead dust here.

Chemical stripping is really the only way to go, and even then, you should be careful. I used both Klean Strip's methylene chloride nasty stuff and Back To Nature's not-so-bad Ready Strip on mine. The Ready Strip doesn't do too well in colder weather, but it's much nicer to work with!

I'm not coming down on you here... just looking out for you and others who may try to follow the same practices. Children under 6 and pregnant women are especially susceptible. Lead dust is the main culprit, and it's easily carried into the home and spread around on your shoes, your clothing, etc. I'll share more if anyone's interested. Comments always welcome!

-wte

i was wearing a really top notch resperator,but great advice

From what I recall, I think you're supposed to have a NIOSH 100 mask/respirator for particulates. Once you use heat, you need a respirator with chemical cartridges to stop the lead fumes. Dust filters won't do it.

Glad to know you're taking precautions!

Bill,
I"ve read a lot of threads about how to go about stripping old paint because I have a job waiting for me on my '60 Sea Coaster. I never thought (or read) about the old lead based paint issue, so I thank you very much for bringing that out. I hope everyone reads your comments and takes them to heart.

Verne