All right, boys and girls, I have another legitimate question for you all to ignore:

We have a client with painted exterior trim who is reluctant to abate the old (lead) paint, and a contractor who has found some shit (excuse me, I mean, fine high quality building product) called Global Encasement.  This, uh, material is promoted as being able to safely encapsulate lead paint (and has a reportedly similar product for encapsulating asbestos) without requiring sanding and all the lead-liberating preparation work that "ordinary" paints require. It's also guaranteed (although exactly what it's guaranteed for or aginst isn't quite clear) for 20 years.

We just had a sample installed, which though not complete, looks like shit.  What else would one expect of finishes applied over peeling paint?

As you may have guessed by now, I am just a teensy bit skeptical of prep-free paint.  The mfr claims it's been used all over the place, is approved by every state, etc etc.  I have even found a couple of NYC bldgs where it's been used and am trying to follow up with them, and with Landmarks.

So the question is, are any of you familiar with this stuff, or have you heard anything (good or bad) about it?  I have looked it up on Google, most of which seems to be a series of repetitions of the manufacturer's ads/claims/literature.

Thanks.

Ralph

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