Recently bought my first home and started painting the walls, only to realize that the paint i was painting over is oil base. Unfortunately i did not lay down a primer and the latex i am painting with is already starting to scratch off. Any suggestions on the easiest way to remove the latex and what SHOULD i have done?

 

There's no easy way
It's scrape and sand

The proper way would have been lightly sand the surface, prime with an oil-based primer, then two coats of quality latex

That's what you'll have to do after you remove any loose or even questionable paint on there now

Before we continue though, do you know why there is oil on there now?
And do you know how old the oil paint job is?

 

Yes, it is highly unusual for oil base to be found on walls today. Is this in a kitchen or bath? I think it has been over 30 yrs since I applied any oil base enamel [or flat] to any other walls in a residence.

I'd aggressively sand the latex to remove most of it - after we have ruled out the possiblity of any OLD lead based paint.

 

The paint is the original paint in the house which was built in the late 50's.

 

neither its actually one of the bedrooms.

 

Ut oh...that's not good...

Disregard the scrape and sand then
That finish has got to be considered lead paint
The dust is toxic

Although encapsulation (painting over) is an acceptable way of dealing with lead paint in most states (a high-bonding primer is used, no sanding), you've got the failing latex to deal with

Exactly how much wall has the latex now, and how much of that is failing
...and how badly is it failing, like...can you make it fail by wiping with a wet paper towel, or do you need to use a putty knife?

 

two of the four walls are failing. The other two walls are doing fine. i believe those were painted with a primer already. i dont know aboout the wet towel but i know i scratch off the latex with my fingernail.

where would i look to find out if painting over is acceptable protection in Ohio?

 

This pamphlet is from the EPA
It gives you a pretty good idea of what's going on with the lead paint thing
There is a listing of who to contact State-wise on the last page 26
It's a PDF, so you'll need Adobe (or similar)

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/rrpamph.pdf

They list the Ohio State Lead Paint Contact as (614) 466-1450

 

is there a safe way to get the latex off since i cant sand it because of the potential lead base paint? i was thinking a heat gun but that might strip the base coat as well

 

*****Do not sand, scrape, media blast, use methylene chloride, propane torch or heat gun that operates over 700* F*****

A safe way to remove the failing latex?
The only thing I can think of is to wet scrape it using a plastic putty knife, taking the precautions found in the pamphlet (the "clean room" etc...basically the same as lead paint removal)
Anything less is still a risk

You may want to pop in to your local Paint Store (not a paint dept. and a big box or sears-a real paint store) and ask about any specialty coatings (options) available in your area
Also pick up a lead testing kit
There is a chance that paint doesn't have lead, especially if it's a "flat" sheen

 

thank you for all your help and suggestions i'll let you know how it turns out. and maybe post some before and after pictures for you