I'm embarrassed to admit that I have occassionally sanded without a mask (should have read "It's your friggin health" sooner!). I'm now really concerned about what damage I might have done by breathing in that crap. I have a 72 Chevelle. Can someone tell me if lead was still being used in paint back then?

I'm sure lead was in the paint back in 72, I think it was phased out in the early to mid eighties. I remember when laquer paints took a dive on quality during the eighties and everyone blamed the failures on the lead removal from the paint then.

There is some misconceptions about lead. Lead could have been found in some paint back in the seventies, or not, depending on the color. It is still used today, in some colors. There are "lead free" paint systems or "formulas" but most still have lead in them as far as I know.

Lead is used in reds and yellows for coverage. There are "lead free" yellow toners that cover pretty good these days. But a few years ago lead free yellow was like water, didn't cover worth a damn. My computer is acting up and I couldn't open an MSDS to show you. If you go to the paint company of choice and look at the MSDS for red or yellow toners you will likely see lead as one of the componants in it.