# Forum Home Renovation Asbestos  Sanding paint over suspected asbestos panel

## Nicevet79

Hello, 
We bought a house 5 months ago. When we moved we noticed some of the internal walls have cracks on them. I was not fully aware it could be asbestos so I added filler to cover the cracks and sanded over (2 months ago) it with an orbital sander. The wall had two thick coats of paint. With the sanding in some parts the first coat was gone and I could see yellow paint below. The question I asked myself later if that if that yellow coat is paint or was part of the original wall panel. I did not go through the yellow coat of paint (if it is). After that first sanding I decided it was not worth doing because it generated a lot of dust so then I kept adding layers of filler because the cracks were a bit concave. I have not finish the painting job because I did not want to sand any more over that panel after realising it may/may not have asbestos. Any suggestions on how to make a better finishing on the wall and any comments about the possibility of have exposed myself to asbestos? 
By the way the house is a 70ish-year old worker's cottage en Brisbane.

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## Overkill

Sanding asbestos is about the worst thing you can do to it, but its very likely that yellow was just paint. I have never seen asbestos sheet that wasn't white or some shade of light grey (when weathered), so you should be fine. OTOH, it would be wise to get an inspection to find out the extent of the problem...

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## GraemeCook

Good Morning Nicevet79 
I think Overkill is quite correct.   If you did get through the paint and stirred up some asbestos fibres it is probably too late to do anything now.   They are either lying dormant in your lungs, or they are not.   But, although the diseases are really nasty, the incidence rate is quite low - and the yellow was most likely just paint. 
Years ago, I had a guy from the Department of the Environment inspect an asbestos clad shed.   He scraped the surface and looked with a jewellers loup to confirm it was asbestos.   His advice was not to touch the sheeting, but to paint it with water-based paint and to keep it well painted.   
Fair Winds 
Graeme

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## nww1969

So a slight hijack of this thread. 
Wondering what reno people do if they have an external asbestos
 house which has some flaking paint. what is the best way to remove
the flaking paint , Is it best to use some kind of sealer over area and
minimise scrapping or water blasting.

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## GraemeCook

> So a slight hijack of this thread. 
> Wondering what reno people do if they have an external asbestos
>  house which has some flaking paint. what is the best way to remove
> the flaking paint , Is it best to use some kind of sealer over area and
> minimise scrapping or water blasting.

  
Not really a hijack.  I do not know the answer to your question. 
But the reason that the Dept of Environment guy strongly recommended water based paints was: as they near the end of their effective life oil based paints fail by bubbling, breaking away from the substrate and flaking off, thus potentially exposing asbestos fibres.water based paints go powdery on the exterior surface and remain attached to the substrate. 
Every five years we just give the water based paint a refreshing blast with the Karcher and then another coat of SolarGuard.  The asbestos is then safety encapsulated for another five years.   Absolutely no sanding, scraping or rubbing.    
Fair Winds 
Graeme

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## Bloss

Approved methods include if paint is flaking: light *wet* sanding *by hand* and paint stripper with scraper - in both cases use a spray bottle to make sure the surface is never dry. Steam wallpaper removers and scraper can also be used, but again never allow wall to become dry. 
And as always - wear quality mask, glasses/ goggles and protective disposable clothing. 
Never use pressure sprayers as they atomise the asbestos in water which then dries out and can be inhaled - and of course will be spread widely. 
If paint surface is stable then a sealer coat and 2 coats of regular paint.

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## FrodoOne

As a side issue, if the house is 70 years old that paint could contain lead. 
That presents a different problem to asbestos but a problem nevertheless.

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## nww1969

> As a side issue, if the house is 70 years old that paint could contain lead. 
> That presents a different problem to asbestos but a problem nevertheless.

  
Was at Bunnings today , noticed that the paint section are selling a small kit to test for lead in paint.

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## johnc

I think the key here is to be alert but not afraid. Lead paints are a health risk but the odd exposure is not going to be any worse than normal background levels, you wouldn't want to machine sand a whole house without a mask when it is lead based and really shouldn't anyway because the fine particles aren't good for you regardless of what they are. Asbestos fibre is something to avoid but again is a low risk and the odd accidental exposure is not a good idea but not something you should loose much sleep over, just avoid exposure and don't take short cuts. 
When it comes to our health we should all wear a quality mask with decent filters in good condition when machine sanding. The paper throw away masks are better than nothing but not by much stick to the filtered masks.

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