black.laura•14d agoMost Upvoted

I always thought using a heat gun to strip paint was asking for trouble, but a job in Savannah changed my mind.

2 comments

2 Comments

Are you serious? That sounds like a great way to release a ton of lead dust into the air no matter what setting you use. A heat gun just bakes the paint and makes it crumble into super fine particles that get everywhere, mask or not. Wet scraping with a special paste is slower but it keeps everything wet and contained so you don't poison yourself or the neighborhood. I've seen guys get sick from thinking they had control over a heat gun.

davidcooper14d ago

The old Victorians in Savannah have so many layers of lead paint. A heat gun on low with a good mask is actually the safest way to get it off there, because wet scraping just doesn't work on those detailed moldings. It's all about control and not overheating one spot. You just have to respect the tool and know what's under the paint.

-1