[macci]

hiya...its been a looong time since chem a'level...I strongly suspect that I have lead paint all over my flat (I've recently started stripping off the wall paper) I know u can buy kits to test, but if i can do it some other way it would wud b more fun n cheaper 2..ha ha

[macci]

hiya...its been a looong time since chem a'level...I strongly suspect that I have lead paint all over my flat (I've recently started stripping off the wall paper) I know u can buy kits to test, but if i can do it some other way it would wud b more fun n cheaper 2..ha ha
[/quote]

[Stepan]

Send it to a lab. They will do it for you (for fee). Kits do not work of paint, and are not accepted as results.

[vmelkon]

I think lead based white paint contains PbSO4 which doesn't dissolve much in water but you can still test it by adding water, then add a minute quantity of H2S (hydrogen sulfide) and it should turn black indicating that the less solutble PbS has formed.

[Stepan]

If I may again . Fully cured paint:
a) is insoluble in water and most acids
b) other metals give the same black colour when in contact with H2S
c) Every single paint I tested over the last 10 years contains some lead. The question is not "does it contains the let?" (because it does). The question is how much. To be classified as "lead paint" material must contain 0.5% of lead or more. 0.49% is already not a "lead paint". Test kits or qualitative reactions cannot provide the accuracy you need. This why, as I mentioned earlier, that the test cannot be done without laboratory help (by the way, laboratory test in USA and Canada will cost you less than a test kit)   

If your house was built before 1980, it likely contains lead paint. After 1982 lead paint was not used.