Lead paint?

[Jberger501]

Did automotive pain contain lead back in the day? I know lead paint was outlawed in 1978, and many of our cars were manufactured before then. I’m wondering if I should wear a respirator when sanding.

[1Bad55Chevy]

Lead or not you should be wearing a quality respirator when using a pneumatic sander.

What all are you trying to sand?

[Lee]

The law back in the seventies only really outlawed lead in residential paints, and toys to protect children. Didn’t affect auto paint, and I don’t believe it is completely outlawed even today, although many manufacturers may have removed it voluntarily, or were forced to do so financially. I come from a plastics background, and lead has many benefits, including dazzling red colors and fast cure properties, but the heavy regulation of its manufacture has made it extremely expensive, and there are many regulatory hoops for the end user, such as routine testing of all manufacturing employees in contact with it.

So take prudent precautions, and remember, paint is not the only source when you are sanding…all the manufacturers used metal lead to fill the seams in various places (on slabside Lincolns, you will find a lot in the roof sail panel, where the fenders meet the grille surround, and other spots).

[Dan Szwarc]

Automakers used lead in filling joints. Not aware if it was used in paint, so my guess is no.

[TonyC]

Well, another advantage is some degree of insulation from fallout in the event of a nuclear war.

But seriously, even I will concede how dangerous lead is and why it's been restricted in industrial applications. In fact, I have to wonder just how many illnesses in Boomers and Gen-X'ers could actually be attributed to lead exposure, when it was used in fuels...?

---Tony

[Jberger501]

Good point about using a respirator. Another angle: Starting in the 1920’s until the lead was phased out of gasoline, lead was deposited along highways, and in farm fields and much of it is still there. Being an element, it will be there forever.

[Mike]

Good point about using a respirator. Another angle: Starting in the 1920’s until the lead was phased out of gasoline, lead was deposited along highways, and in farm fields and much of it is still there. Being an element, it will be there forever.

And that road side pollution has been replaced with contaminants from catalytic converters.

[frasern]

If we're going to be alarmists here, let's not forget the asbestos in plastic body filler!