Painting and decorating
Toolbox talks for painters and decorators
Shaun Holmes
Rubbing down a window in an older house is where lead paint gets treated as ordinary dust. HSE says lead pigments were not taken out of all commonly used paint until the early 1980s, and that the coat underneath can still contain them. If the paint is sound, leave it and key it with wet paper. If it has to come off, do not dry sand it and do not burn it off.
Solvents in paints, strippers and thinners are the COSHH talk, with HSE's solvents page linked below. Sanding filler is the silica talk, not a new one. The pages stay open to read. The pack asks for an email the first time.
This talk supplements the site's own risk assessment and method. It does not replace them, and it is not a substitute for competent health and safety advice.
Talks for this trade
About 5 minutes
Old lead paint
Leave sound paint. Wet paper, stripper or H or M class extraction if it has to come off. No blow lamp, and no dry sanding.
Read the talk
About 5 minutes
COSHH and hazardous substances
Paints, strippers, thinners and glues. Read the label before you open the tin, and keep the lid on when you are not using it.
Read the talk
About 5 minutes
Silica dust
Sanding filler and rubbing back masonry. You cannot tell the dust is gone because the air looks clear.
Read the talk
About 5 minutes
Working at height
Fascias, stairwells and landings. Do what you can from the ground. A ladder is not the automatic first choice.
Read the talk
About 5 minutes
Ladders and stepladders
The short bit of cutting in, where a stepladder is sensible only if the risk is low and the job is short.
Read the talk
About 5 minutes
Asbestos awareness
Rubbing down or stripping in a building from before 2000. Stop if you do not know what the coating is.
Read the talk
About 5 minutes
Fire safety and hot works
HSE lists paint, varnish and white spirit as fuel. A blow lamp is an ignition source as well as a lead problem.
Read the talk
Tools for your trade
- How much paint?
Litres of paint for a room, doors and windows taken off, split into 2.5, 5 and 10 litre tins.
- What day rate should I charge?
A day rate from the take-home you want, the days you cannot invoice, and the share you set aside for tax.
- Mileage allowance calculator
The HMRC flat mileage rate for a car, van or motorcycle, with the 10,000-mile split.
- VAT threshold checker
A rolling 12-month turnover set against the £90,000 VAT registration line.
HSE pages for this trade
These are the HSE pages I used. None of them are affiliate links.
Lead in construction (opens in a new tab)
Assess stripping and preparation of old paint. Keep hot air equipment below 500°C. Do not use blow lamps or gas torches on leaded paint.
Old lead paint, CIS79 (opens in a new tab)
HSE's busy-builder sheet: only strip paint that is flaking, chipping, or a risk to children. Bag the debris. Wash hands and forearms.
Solvents (opens in a new tab)
Vapour from paints, strippers and thinners. A brush in a ventilated room is a different risk from spraying in a closed one. A dust filter does not stop solvent vapour.
Working at height (opens in a new tab)
Ladders and stepladders can be a sensible option for low-risk, short-duration work. They are not banned, and they are not the default.
Asbestos (opens in a new tab)
If a coating might contain asbestos, stop and speak to the person in charge before you sand it.
Construction fire (opens in a new tab)
Paint, varnish and white spirit are fuels. Naked flames and hot processes are ignition.
A blank register, with nothing else on the page, is the toolbox talk sign-off sheet. The full library is on the toolbox talks page, and a year of topics is in the 52-week planner.
Painters and decorators toolbox talk pack
The talks on this page, each with its own sign-off sheet, on one page you can print. The talks stay here to read. Opening the pack asks for an email the first time.
Get a ready-to-read toolbox talk every week
I've spent over 20 years in UK construction. Every issue of my free weekly email includes a toolbox talk you can read out on Monday morning, plus plain-English tips for the van and the office.
Free tools for a day rate, a tax estimate, a CIS deduction, and materials are on the tools page.