Varnish over old lead varnish/stain on stairs?

Question

There is loads of content on the Internet about dealing with old lead paint but how does one deal with old (~1905) lead stain/varnish on stairs? Assuming the stairs can’t be replaced due to cost, is it possible to apply a layer of varnish that will sufficiently encapsulate the old lead coating or must I paint over it with encapsulant paint? There are children in the house so lead is of particular concern.

Answer 1

If the surface is in aesthetic shape, just apply three coats of polyurethane to abate the lead. If there are some areas that require sanding beforehand, you'll need to either create a containment seal with plastic, or keep the sanding to a bare minimum, wet sanding the smallest areas possible, cleaning up with mildly soapy and water, keeping the water contained, meaning wipe it up as quickly as you can, and dump the contaminated water down the toilet. If the area needing to be sanded, hire a professional painter, as all professional painter sa re required to be lead paint certified by the EPA if there is potential for them to work on houses built before 1978. I assume you have already tested for lead and you are positive the substrate contains lead. If not, that's where I would start, get a lead testing kit from Home Depot to verify the presence of lead. The area to be tested needs to be as clean as you can possibly get it, cleaning the area surrounding it for a good twelve inches and test in the cleanest spot in the center of the area. I have seen do-it-yourselfers test areas without cleaning first, and they get false positive test results from the dust, not the actual substrate. But the quickest, easiest solution is just cover it with three coats of polyurethane, you can even get by with two thick coats, allowing it to dry completely between.