When was lead paint no longer on the market?

It was not banned till 1978, so the chances are good.

You can purchase from The Home Depot a lead base paint test kit, in there paint department which is not expensive and test it yourself.

I have found it on homes built all the way up to the 78 deadline. It is true that paint companies saw the ban coming and reduced usage of lead. Rather than stop using it all together though, a lot of companies just decreased the amount of lead used.

In homes built in the first half 20'th century, it was not uncommon for lead to make up %50 of the paint. Later on in the 60's and 70's many paints still contained lead, but in a much lower concentration.

Lead makes paint so tough that companies were loath to stop using it all together. It's still used in some military and industrial applications.


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Even though the ban went into effect in '78, some lead paint continued to be sold until at least the mid-80's. Small stores everywhere continued to sell it as part of their stock and there were painters out there that bought out supplies because they liked using the stuff for its' longevity. So, you are spot on to do a test.

Thanks for the responses everyone. It will be interesting to see what they find.

My understanding is that it was only banned for residential use. The lines on the road and other industrial applications still use use it.

Do any of you have any experience with your house being tested for lead? I'm just wondering what they'll do when they get here and what to expect if they do find lead paint.

I just use these little white sticks that look like cigarettes. Same thing Mike was referring to. You have to cut back a little strip of paint so you can see if there is any lead in any previous layers. Do this in several locations. Not rocket science. Every home inspector I have come across does it this way also. I have never heard of anybody using a special machine or doing lab testing or anything exotic.

In your case, the daycare licensing requirements are what matters. I expect it's just a matter of a bureaucrat checking off a box and it's not a big deal. Lead is not really dangerous on a wall. Especially if it has a few layers of non-lead paint on top of it. If they find lead, would you have to remove it completely? That seems a little extreme. For my kid, I'd be totally satisfied with a fresh coat of paint. But you are playing by a different set of rules than a regular home owner.

One more question about lead paint...

They'll probably test the paint on the aluminum siding on the house.

Does anyone know if that could contain lead? It's the kind that if you rub your hand on it, the white powder rubs off onto your skin.

Good question gma2rjc. I'm curious myself. I would assume "yes" but then I am wondering if lead would somehow react to aluminum in some fashion and perhaps it WAS NOT used to coat aluminum siding. I will say one thing, whatever paint was used it was good stuff as many aluminum sided homes in my town still have the original paint on them from 30, 40, and even 50 years ago!

Thanks Gymschu. After the inspector pays a visit and does his/her report, I'll post the results here. I'm really curious too. I hadn't thought about exterior paint before either - just the paint on the interior walls of the house.