I'm totally with you klem1.

I heartfully appreciate your rightful concern.

I too am super concerned about lead. We are doing all we can do keep it lead safe on our own.

I fully know it's always a risk but we're taking it. Can't hire out, not financially possible.

For over a year my son and I get tested every 5/6 weeks through the county (capillary test goes to level of 3 or higher) and a blood draw every 6 months at the doctor. So far so good...

We keep other children out. Crawling or young teething babes for sure, but also just kids in general. There are risk factors for increasing uptake of lead, like iron deficiency anemia, common in little ones just learning to eat.

There was lead paint in our former apartment (moved here in March), it was a big deal. I got a home test and found it in the kitchen cupboards.

The county was informed and we worked closely with them. I talked to a county advocate nearly biweekly for 6 months. Luckily for us in an urban area we had a lot of resources, including a home visit to our new house and professional testing. The Lead Line gave us a tons of info/support.

Portland has had lots and lots of lead problems. One of the most lead polluted areas in the country, mostly from pipes. It's been high at public schools recently, major calamity.

We just happen to live in an area with a lot of support. For that reason I feel confident to take all the precautions I know yet extremely cautious in proceeding.

I am by no means an expert, but rather a DIYer with an old house who reads a lot. And I have been re-doing my windows for a few years. Sun and moisture are your enemies, moisture more than sun at this stage.

When you say "window trim," are you referring to the window sash or the window casing? Or both?

I can only tell you what I would do. If you plan to do more stripping and sanding, then I would not apply any wood hardener at this point. Just keep the condensation off the window as best you can. The glass needs to come out of the sash to complete the job, so that's why I asked about what pieces of the window you were referring to.

If you plan to apply paint to the windows versus varnish, then taking off every speck of paint is not that important as long as you can't feel it when you touch it. If you can feel it, you will see it.

For now, if you are on hiatus with the windows, maybe you could just brush some blopentine onto the wood, a 1:1 mixture of boiled linseed oil and turpentine. Google it for more info.

As for recommendations, I like the Abatron products for containing rot and filling. Oil primer is getting harder to find in my area, so I use whatever I can get, then apply a good quality acrylic paint. I use Cabinet Coat.

Just my thoughts; there are some real experts here who may have better advice.

Celia, it sounds like you are doing a good job of lead mitigation. I agree Portland is great at diseminating information to home owners and support. On to some of your questions. as for primer, I have a personal preference for the kills interior oil based primer. BTW you can top coat it with anything once it has dried. I like the build and chalk like texture that makes sanding/ smoothing finish very user friendly. That being said that is the benefit to an oil based primer. i like the kilz version because it is designed to block tough stains like tannins from old woods and finishes and contaminates. I'm not as familiar with these products that help to rigidify ( new word) old and questionable wood. I have heard people have success. That being said I would defer you to the local paint store that sells the product. (preferably not a box store, too many inconsistencies with bad advice from well meaning clerks that don't have knowledge or experience giving crackpot advice) Sherwinn williams or Miller etc they have someone there that will have a better idea.

Happy painting

Thank you, Dream Home. Killz seems to be a favorite around Houzz for good reason.

We ended up using a lesser quality primer, Zinzer 123. We were under extreme time pressure and got the 'best' we could find at Home Depot. It worked pretty well on walls, ceiling and windows alike.

I used the Abatron system for rebuilding parts of the window trim, and I worked great! Super easy to use, I'm so pleased. I'll post a pic sometime.

In the end we really had to just seal up the walls and windows before winter. I'm so glad we did because it's been very cold this winter.

Also, we were having family stay and our sons birthday party, and wanted a somewhat functional, safe and okay-looking living room.

The restoration saga is far from over, but priming every things is giving us a much needed rest and reflection time.

Soon I will hire a trim carpenter for the baseboards and picture rail installation, a plasterer for the skim coat, and electrician (MUCH needed). Not in that order ;)

I enjoyed working on the windows and feel passionate about restoring them, but I just cannot do it myself right now.

I'm thinking about sending the interior trim off to a Dip Strip place, then seeing what we got and working with some window restorers. Some pieces are broken :( While replacing the sash cords I could see that the windows were originally stained and shellacked. The restoration team can make custom storm windows, and much more. But our outside window trim is full of poorly painted nasty paint, super caked on layer after layer - have to hire someone to remove it (maybe lead abatement?) before storms can be made. Reglaze and weather strip, too.

I know it's not cheap, but neither is replacing them. Maybe do one window at a time. Even one per year would be nice (only 5 double hungs and 2 pianos to do!)

So...with everything I've read in favor of original wood windows, I have to say that currently our windows are definitely subpar and VERY cold. I see they MUST be maintained and have the storms to be great in the winter. We added a removable plasticy caulk, shimmed then, painted them shut, and plastics them, and now they are okay.

Q: Can trim carpenters also repair parts of our hardwood floor?

Thanks again to everyone on Houzz, I learned so much here.

Yes, at least speaking for myself the answer is yes. Not all trim carpenters are created equal. Good luck

Yes, John Leeke is a fantastic wood window information source. I ordered his book "Saving America's Windows" from his website. It is well worth it.