>>tiresome or dangerous scraping; ya just schmear it on over the already-blistering and dirt-encrusted lead?paint. which is an ideal base. Yeah, right.<< I'm not advocating the use of this stuff, but I have used it. "Schmear" is what many applicators would only be capable of, but would probably not be a good technique. "Laid on" might be better. For prep, any loose paint chips and dust can be safety HEPA vacced off, then application of this stuff. The stuff I have used is waterborne but also has a solvent in it. The solvent slightly softens loose paint chips that are still in place, and tends to (or actually does) flatten and heal them back down to the substrate. Of course, there will be some paint surface conditions where this stuff does just make a mess that is more difficult to deal with than the original condition. The real problem here is that the "product" is supposed to solve the problem. There is no success that comes from "product." Success comes from method, knowledge-based labor, etc. JOhn -- To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>