lead paint and repainting

[wozzzzza]

i am needing to paint about 150m of steel balcony railings made in the 70's, they are made of RHS steel top and bottom and with about 15mm square solid steel balisters.
they are currently painted in waterbased acyrlic black paint but the base paint has tested positive to lead and the top layer is flaking off in some places.
i want to use weathermax HBR paint on this
what do i do with the lead paint underneath where its flaking off? how do i prepare the surface?

[droog]

Follow the manufacturers recommendations from the manufacturer of the top coat ?
https://www.duluxtrade.com.au/techni...lead-in-paint/

Wet sanding or chemical stripping.

[havabeer69]

given the legalities about exposing people to lead paint... and the time consuming nature of prepping all those 15mm balisters....is it cheaper to just get new balustrades?


maybe see if you can't get a decent pressure washer with decent nozzle to just blast any of the loose top coat off?

[wozzzzza]

given the legalities about exposing people to lead paint... and the time consuming nature of prepping all those 15mm balisters....is it cheaper to just get new balustrades?

nowhere near it. new ones cost a fortune.

maybe see if you can't get a decent pressure washer with decent nozzle to just blast any of the loose top coat off?

na i rather not blow lead around the place.

called up my painter, he reckons most of it is solid, just scrape off the loose parts, dont sand anything, give good wipe down with acetone or similar and prime bare metal and repaint in 2 pack weathermax hbr will last another 10+ years

[ubeaut]

You got a smart painter there wozzzzz, Stick with him. He appears to have a brain and common-sense.

Cheers - Neil

[havabeer69]

nowhere near it. new ones cost a fortune.


na i rather not blow lead around the place.

called up my painter, he reckons most of it is solid, just scrape off the loose parts, dont sand anything, give good wipe down with acetone or similar and prime bare metal and repaint in 2 pack weathermax hbr will last another 10+ years

how much is he charging to do that though?

[wozzzzza]

how much is he charging to do that though?

too much probably, rather do it myself.

[Cleokitty]

Bit late, but just saw the topic. How difficult would it be to remove the railings? I'd explore the option of taking them to a powder coating outfit and have them sandblast or dip-strip them, then powdercoat them. Never need to do it again........

[wozzzzza]

Bit late, but just saw the topic. How difficult would it be to remove the railings? I'd explore the option of taking them to a powder coating outfit and have them sandblast or dip-strip them, then powdercoat them. Never need to do it again........

no can do, all welded on to the structure of the building, nice thick steel unlike the crap they make today.

[rambunctious]

no can do, all welded on to the structure of the building, nice thick steel unlike the crap they make today.

Course you can.

Cut em off with an angle grinder with fine disc , tidy up the ends and the steel where they were attached with the same grinder only with grinding disc, then off to the strippers/powder coaters, and meanwhile you can make/buy some brackets and either fit them to the building steel or get a good welder person to weld the brackets.
Far from rocket science, just have to look outside the square.

[havabeer69]

Course you can.

Cut em off with an angle grinder with fine disc , tidy up the ends and the steel where they were attached with the same grinder only with grinding disc, then off to the strippers/powder coaters, and meanwhile you can make/buy some brackets and either fit them to the building steel or get a good welder person to weld the brackets.
Far from rocket science, just have to look outside the square.

being a business would probably need something temporarily put back in its place so people don't yeet them selfs off the balconies

[rambunctious]

being a business would probably need something temporarily put back in its place so people don't yeet them selfs off the balconies

Without a doubt.
One of those "how do I attack this without killing off the tenants and/or ending up in big trouble ?" jobs.
I am sure Wozzzzza has it under control.
The block has been his project for a number of years now.
As already mentioned, chemical stripping is probably the best option providing any run off/residue is contained and dealt with in the correct manner.