How can I remove flaking (likely lead based) paint from very rough, exterior stucco?

Question

Here's a similar type of stucco to what I have:

Mine is light yellow but similarly rough-seas wavy like this picture. Mine is also now looking pretty dingy and I would like to repaint. Upon closer inspection I found that the paint on there now is flaking off in thin, holey flakes. I read that this is a good indicator of lead-based paint; my house was built in 1925 so this would not surprise me in the least.

I started calling around to abatement places but got the runaround. I feel like I could do this myself. But I'm not usually very careful about keeping a surgically clean work area or cleaning up super perfectly, and if this is something that is required with lead paint then I might be better off paying somebody to do it for me.

But if not ... how would I go about doing it? Chemical or UV lamp? How would I need to set up drop cloths to catch the flaky bits that fall off? How to I need to dispose of it? Would welcome detailed instructions from anybody with experience.

Answer 1

What is mandatory for contractors is suggested for homeowners.

Lead dust is what you want to avoid:

• Manual scraping is much better than power.
• Hand sanding is much better than power sanders
• Wet wipe down is much better sweeping dry
• HEPA vacs are much safer than ordinary shop vacs

Common sense stuff: N95 (or better, EPA suggests N or P 100) dust masking, hand washing, clothing changing, sealing debris and plastic tarping in (appropriately tough, 3 mil ) plastic bags