Is it safe to lightly sand asbestos?

I have asbestos sheeting on the side of my house. It has been painted 2-3 times, but the last coat is flaking. I was thinking of lightly scraping and sanding that outer surface before painting - it's unlikely I will even breach the original layers of paint. This should be safe right? Or is the general advice for asbestos to just stay right away?
 
Don't sand it. I would think you take a big risk of sanding through to the boards themselves which is a big no-no.
 
Maybe a very light hand sand on the flaking edge only. Wear a silicon half face mask fitted with dust cartridges and prefilters. Dispose of the disposable overalls you wear.

Asbestos is very nasty stuff.

Best idea? Get a pro in. They have all the gear.
 
The only answer for this is no. It's cause of the y fibres in the asbestos if you breath it in it locks into your lungs etc.
 
Could you use a high pressure hose? We have done this before to prepare for painting (on aluminium cladding though).
 
Kbuzz - this is worse again than sanding. Do not waterblast, you remove the cement which binds the asbestos and makes it airborne.

JB, you might consider appropriate ppe (dust suit & cartridge mask from hardware store - not a disposable mask). A light sand on wetted down material (use hose to keep it wet). Take care not to go back to bare A/C.
 
I have asbestos sheeting on the side of my house. It has been painted 2-3 times, but the last coat is flaking. I was thinking of lightly scraping and sanding that outer surface before painting - it's unlikely I will even breach the original layers of paint. This should be safe right? Or is the general advice for asbestos to just stay right away?

If you want to play you should wear a P2 or better! mask and the disposable suit etc. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

don't do it on a windy day and use a sander with a vac attachment (p2 or better vac bag also)

spray with water or paint sealer on as you go along as each section is finished.


if you can use wet and dry paper and sand wet it is preferable (the dry airborn fibres do the nasty stuff to you)

wrap everything in plastic and tape it up and dump according to local legislation.

(in SA you can remove 10m2 /day yourself if done according to local legislation)

check out what you can legally and sensibly do yourself

cough cough splutter :eek:

eden
 
gees, heart stopped when I saw this thread. Seriously get the whole dam thing replaced by a professional. Ever seen someone die from asbestosis? Hard enough to watch, let alone endure yourself... suffocating on your own fluids is not worth it to save the cost of a fence.
 
It has been painted 2-3 times, but the last coat is flaking
i think you know the wall better than everyone here. Are you confidnet of the layers and know what the original material looks like? If like you are saying only sanding the last coat, you shouldnt get to the asbestos .

it's unlikely I will even breach the original layers of paint
there you go, if you are confident of this and are purely giving it a very light sand you wont be getting to the fibres in the material. If you can sacrifice the final finish and just do a light sand then, like you said you arent getting the to evil asbestos fibres.

Or is the general advice for asbestos to just stay right away?
This is the general advise from average joe asbestosphobe with no knowledge of the stuff. Look into your your states regs and handling disposal. its a safe product when sealed. once it is broken or the fibres released it then becomes a hazard. but the biggest problem with asbestos is saying it out loud! I dont have any of my info with me on the stats and hype about the stuff with me but it has an interesting history when learnt from an expert with facts and science
 
Same.

Sanding asbestos never sounds like a good idea.

Cheers

Jamie

he is not going to sand the asbestos ,he is planning on sanding the top coat of paint .as a past poster has said ,there is a lot of misinformation and alarmist comments about the handling of asbestos .
 
clearly the reason he is sanding is because the surface has been broken or is worn thru to the asbestos. I do not see what misinformation there is... one tiny fragment, in your lungs, very long and painful death.
 
Back
Top