Removing interior chipping paint

[hanaiapa]

Hi All,
I'm looking into removing the chipping interior paint of my 1972 crown, before repainting it. It is peeling everywhere so I really need to get it out but there's a pretty large surface (the entire interior roof).

Any advice on the preferred method?
Sanding?
Using a paint remover like SmartStrip? https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Strip-A...ds=smart+strip
Did anyone try water pressure or even crazy things like dry ice blasters?

Thanks!

[Iceni John]

What are your plans for the interior? Are you going to insulate or not, are you going to fully build the interior or keep it open-plan, what are your preferences for interior look (wood, modern, RV-esque, industrial/Steampunk, hippy trippy, etc.)?

I will be covering all my interior that's now painted, so I don't care about the paint's condition. The sidewalls below the windows, the two windows on each side that I've covered over, the wiring chase above the windows for the lights and speakers, and the ceiling itself, will all be covered by Celtec 1/8"-thick expanded PVC sheet. I'm using the pale gray everywhere, except for the ceiling that will be plain white to better reflect light and create a feeling of spaciousness. Against the sidewalls the Celtec is backed by 3/8" ply as a stiffener, but against the wiring chase I'll just glue it straight onto the painted surface, except where the paint is peeling where I'll rub the paint down to bare aluminum for better adhesion. The white Celtec against the ceiling will have some thin foam, maybe 1/4"-thick packing foam sheet, to cover the rivets and allow the Celtec to sit flat over them, and it will also slightly help with insulation. I'm hoping that the ceiling's Celtec will stay up by itself because it will rest on the tops of the wiring chases on both sides, pushing itself up because of its curvature. I've chosen Celtec because it's lightweight, comes in colors (I HATE painting!), is flexible, is non-absorbent and wipes clean, and has some minimal heat and noise insulation value.

If you want to repaint the interior you could try using a heatgun and scraper, how I completely stripped my entire roof down to bare aluminum before repainting it, or a chemical strip (probably messy). Be very careful before blasting with anything, or you could easily stretch and oilcan the thin material.

John

[Njsurf73]

Be careful, test the paint. That is lead vintage. A heat gun and scraper would be bad, any method that involves making the lead friable is dangerous if there is lead in it.

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[hanaiapa]

Thanks guys.

I actually do want to remove it because it tested positive for lead. Why would heating and scraping be bad? (I would use a mask and gloves)

Is there a better method for lead-based paint?

[Iceni John]

Originally Posted by hanaiapa

Thanks guys.

I actually do want to remove it because it tested positive for lead. Why would heating and scraping be bad? (I would use a mask and gloves)

Is there a better method for lead-based paint?

I could understand why to not use a wire wheel or something abrasive that turns the paint into dust that could then be inhaled, but when I scraped my roof's paint I was softening it so I could scrape it off intact. All the paint came off in 1.5"-wide strips (that's how wide my scraper was!) by up to a foot or so long. There really wasn't any dust created, nor even smoke unless I inadvertently overheated the paint and it began to smolder, but it was outside so it didn't matter. As far a I can tell I haven't developed any late-term birth defects, at least not yet, and I didn't vote for El Trumpo so I guess my brain isn't damaged too much much much much. So far so good.

John

[tailor]

Originally Posted by Iceni John

What are your plans for the interior? Are you going to insulate or not, are you going to fully build the interior or keep it open-plan, what are your preferences for interior look (wood, modern, RV-esque, industrial/Steampunk, hippy trippy, etc.)?

I will be covering all my interior that's now painted, so I don't care about the paint's condition. The sidewalls below the windows, the two windows on each side that I've covered over, the wiring chase above the windows for the lights and speakers, and the ceiling itself, will all be covered by Celtec 1/8"-thick expanded PVC sheet. I'm using the pale gray everywhere, except for the ceiling that will be plain white to better reflect light and create a feeling of spaciousness. Against the sidewalls the Celtec is backed by 3/8" ply as a stiffener, but against the wiring chase I'll just glue it straight onto the painted surface, except where the paint is peeling where I'll rub the paint down to bare aluminum for better adhesion. The white Celtec against the ceiling will have some thin foam, maybe 1/4"-thick packing foam sheet, to cover the rivets and allow the Celtec to sit flat over them, and it will also slightly help with insulation. I'm hoping that the ceiling's Celtec will stay up by itself because it will rest on the tops of the wiring chases on both sides, pushing itself up because of its curvature. I've chosen Celtec because it's lightweight, comes in colors (I HATE painting!), is flexible, is non-absorbent and wipes clean, and has some minimal heat and noise insulation value.

If you want to repaint the interior you could try using a heatgun and scraper, how I completely stripped my entire roof down to bare aluminum before repainting it, or a chemical strip (probably messy). Be very careful before blasting with anything, or you could easily stretch and oilcan the thin material.

John

I was thinking of using sintra to make a wet shower/toilet. Has anyone had any experience with sintra/celtec?

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by Iceni John

I could understand why to not use a wire wheel or something abrasive that turns the paint into dust that could then be inhaled, but when I scraped my roof's paint I was softening it so I could scrape it off intact. All the paint came off in 1.5"-wide strips (that's how wide my scraper was!) by up to a foot or so long. There really wasn't any dust created, nor even smoke unless I inadvertently overheated the paint and it began to smolder, but it was outside so it didn't matter. As far a I can tell I haven't developed any late-term birth defects, at least not yet, and I didn't vote for El Trumpo so I guess my brain isn't damaged too much much much much. So far so good.

John

I am just pointing out that you may have lead in your paint. There are test kits to check. If you do, you may want to tackle it differently.
Outdoors is much less likely for you to be affected, indoors or in a tight spot... Even wearing a respirator doesn't protect the people and pets you live with... You need a disposable tyvec suit, and a respirator (not a dust mask) if you are going to be making chips and dust.
A good method is to wet the area down and scrape till it is solid then coat with another paint to seal it in.

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[Tango]

While I doubt that lead based paint was used on a vehicle, there is an easy way to find out. Most hardware stores sell cheap test kits that will tell the tale one way or another.

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by Tango

While I doubt that lead based paint was used on a vehicle, there is an easy way to find out. Most hardware stores sell cheap test kits that will tell the tale one way or another.

Yep, but I have seen weirder. Lead based paint was phased out in houses in the 70s/80s but was and is still available for commercial and industrial coatings. I don't think they used lead in most automotive paints. But I am not sure.

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[Iceni John]

By the time that Crown built my bus in July 1990 I would be surprised if they still used lead paint, especially considering that Crown was in California. I have a copy of a Crown Super II brochure dated 12/88 that states that interior and exterior paint is "zinc primed and polyurethane exterior paint", but it doesn't actually state what the interior paint is!

Let's keep this in perspective. Exposing young children to continuous high levels of airborne lead from gasoline exhaust is one thing, or even working as a painter professionally, but scraping off some paint one time is hardly going to cause brain damage! The public treats lead paint as if it were plutonium or Ebola - "Oh my god, I've got some paint dust on me, I'm going to die, take me to the ER". Sorry if I sound flippant, but one time of stripping paint is not cause for neurotic over-reaction. Let's be real here. It's sad that the public is conditioned to be in a constant state of fear about one thing or another - you can't go through life always being afraid.

Heck, when I was young I can remember playing with sheets of asbestos (back when it was not known as a danger!) - we'd break it apart and soak pieces of it in water overnight, then the next day throw them into a hot bonfire and watch them explode and send asbestos shrapnel flying everywhere. For a 12-year old that's about as much fun as you could have. I even had a sample of Rocks Of The World in a small cardboard display box, and the featured rock for Canada was a piece of mineral asbestos - I used to rub it to get the fibers off it and show my friends that not all rock was hard. Do I have lung cancer now? No. Nowadays that little piece of asbestos would be treated as a serious HazMat incident. I also used to collect all the spent .22 bullet fragments from the back of the school's firing range in the armory and melt them down in an old tin can on a gas stovetop, pour the molten lead into serving spoons and make weird spoon-shaped ingots that I could then sell to the local scrap man for a few quid. Do I have signs of lead poisoning now? No.

John

[Njsurf73]

Originally Posted by Iceni John

By the time that Crown built my bus in July 1990 I would be surprised if they still used lead paint, especially considering that Crown was in California. I have a copy of a Crown Super II brochure dated 12/88 that states that interior and exterior paint is "zinc primed and polyurethane exterior paint", but it doesn't actually state what the interior paint is!

Let's keep this in perspective. Exposing young children to continuous high levels of airborne lead from gasoline exhaust is one thing, or even working as a painter professionally, but scraping off some paint one time is hardly going to cause brain damage! The public treats lead paint as if it were plutonium or Ebola - "Oh my god, I've got some paint dust on me, I'm going to die, take me to the ER". Sorry if I sound flippant, but one time of stripping paint is not cause for neurotic over-reaction. Let's be real here. It's sad that the public is conditioned to be in a constant state of fear about one thing or another - you can't go through life always being afraid.

Heck, when I was young I can remember playing with sheets of asbestos (back when it was not known as a danger!) - we'd break it apart and soak pieces of it in water overnight, then the next day throw them into a hot bonfire and watch them explode and send asbestos shrapnel flying everywhere. For a 12-year old that's about as much fun as you could have. I even had a sample of Rocks Of The World in a small cardboard display box, and the featured rock for Canada was a piece of mineral asbestos - I used to rub it to get the fibers off it and show my friends that not all rock was hard. Do I have lung cancer now? No. Nowadays that little piece of asbestos would be treated as a serious HazMat incident. I also used to collect all the spent .22 bullet fragments from the back of the school's firing range in the armory and melt them down in an old tin can on a gas stovetop, pour the molten lead into serving spoons and make weird spoon-shaped ingots that I could then sell to the local scrap man for a few quid. Do I have signs of lead poisoning now? No.

John

Just to put it in perspective, I am and was a painter. I am and was a lead abatement specialist. Lead at any level is harmful to everyone. There is no need to expose yourself to it needlessly. I am just saying to educate and protect yourself. A little bit won't hurt... But it stays in your system. So every little bit builds up.
Lead in it's metallic solid form isn't very dangerous. Smelting lead is still less dangerous than sanding a wall with lead paint. It has to do with the size of the particulate being dispersed. Fine dust will get into you lungs and system easier than a 1oz sinker.

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