paints now a days are safe though it is not recommended as the lifting of the brush and all that can strain your muscles. Our bathtub is painted and it always freaks me out and I never have taken a bath once since we lived here. I am weird. That is funny because my DH just read this to me, as we want to paint the basement and he says I don't have an excuse

haha. He prob wont let me do anything painting though, as he is being very over protective.