Lead Paint in Pre-1970 Homes and Safe Preparation

Much of Prahran, Windsor and Armadale is made up of homes built and painted well before 1970, and that brings a specific consideration to any repaint: lead-based paint. It is not a reason for alarm, but it is a reason to prepare surfaces carefully rather than aggressively. Here is what you need to know.

Why old homes have lead paint

Lead was a common ingredient in house paints for much of the twentieth century, and paints with high lead content were widely used in Australia into the 1970s before being phased down. So if your home was painted before 1970 — which describes most of inner-south-east Melbourne's period stock — assume lead is present in the older layers until it is ruled out. It is most often found on exterior timber, window frames, doors, eaves and older interior trim.

Why it matters during a repaint

Intact, sound paint that is painted over is generally low risk. The problem comes when old paint is **disturbed**. Dry sanding, aggressive scraping, sandblasting or heat-stripping lead paint releases fine dust and fumes that are hazardous — particularly to children and pregnant women — and that dust settles across the garden, the soil and inside the house. Since preparation is exactly the stage where old paint gets disturbed, how a painter prepares a pre-1970 home genuinely matters.

What safe preparation looks like

Good practice on lead-painted surfaces follows the Australian Standard for lead-paint management (**AS 4361.2**) and general WorkSafe and EPA guidance. In practice that means:

- **Avoiding dry sanding and dry scraping** of suspected lead paint where possible — wet methods and careful hand techniques keep dust down - **No sandblasting or open heat-gun stripping** of lead paint, which generate the most hazardous dust and fumes - **Containing debris** — drop sheets to catch chips and dust rather than letting them spread into soil and gardens - **Cleaning up thoroughly** and disposing of paint waste and contaminated material responsibly, in line with EPA requirements - **Protecting the household** — keeping occupants, and especially children, away from the work area during preparation

Questions worth asking a painter

On any pre-1970 home, ask how they will prepare surfaces that may contain lead. A painter who works on period homes should talk comfortably about wet preparation, containment and waste disposal rather than reaching for a sander and a heat gun. If lead is a real concern on your home, testing kits and professional assessment are available to confirm it.

The bottom line

Lead paint is a routine part of painting old inner-Melbourne homes, and it is entirely manageable. The difference is all in the preparation — careful, contained and cleaned up, rather than fast and dusty. It protects your household, and it happens to produce a better surface for the new paint as well.