Lead paint in old press?

[Paulie vino]

Hi all, Im in the process of cleaning up and old wine press I picked up. It' made by Giunta Brothers and I think dates from the 1920s. Given that it was made a long time ago, should I be worried about the paint that was used to coat the base? Would lead paint have been used back then on something like this? There doesn't appear to be much paint left but you can see in the pictures below there are bits and pieces. I was thinking about repainting it for rust prevention, but then I I read in another thread that the acid from the grapes will passivate the cast iron and form a protective coating from rust so I may just leave it alone (I painted the legs due to heavy rust buildup). It's lasted this long and looks to be relatively rust free so I'd rather not fix it if it ain't broke. Any thought would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Are you sure it’s actually paint on there. You can buy a test kit at big box hardware stores to check for lead.

 

[Paulie vino]

Yes it's paint. It's the same color that was on the legs before I repainted them. Thanks for the advice on the test kit, I didn't think of that.

 

[salcoco]

I believe Presque Isle sells food grade paint. I would get it sand blasted and a coat of paint. nothing questionable then.

 

[Paulie vino]

I bought the presque isle food grade paint because I intended to paint the press, but so far I only did the legs, as you can see in the picture. I was originally planning to do the rest but it isn't rusty like I thought so I want to leave it alone for now. My only concern was the possibility of lead paint but I hope that after around 100 years and many press cycles whatever paint that remains on there isnt going anywhere. Im afraid if I sandblast it or wire brush it I will remove whatever protective coating is on there. Like I said in my original post, I read on here that the grape must has compounds that will bind with the cast iron and passivate it and prevent rust. It seems better to leave it alone, rather than paint it and have to worry about paint chipping and exposing the metal to potential rust. Maybe someone with more knowledge than me can shed some light on that.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

My lead removal certification is old (15 yrs ago) but if it is lead you need to take precautions removing it and disposing of it.

personally I’ve played with asbestos when I was young, we used to pass mercury around from hand to hand in science class back in the day and i can tell you that siphoning gas (with lead) you do get a mouthful. I’m normal

i wouldn’t worry about what pressing grapes will do, but if you do clean it or scrape paint off you should seal it.

 

[Paulie vino]

Thanks flamingo emporium, Im leaning toward leaving it alone for now. I may buy a lead test kit from home Depot for piece of mind.