1930s Semi Strip and Decorate Room

[mcprinter]

We have been in for 20 Years and finally got to the Room that has never been touched.

Chimney Breast that has got damp (now fixed) and has some blown Plaster.
The Walls are Wallpapered and have always been a bit 'lumpy'
Double lined and with Vinyl Paper
The Walls have fine cracks. Not sure if I can fix or it will need a skim.
I am guessing there was a Picture Rail and whoever filled it has left it proud. Quite a few poor repair/filling jobs.

The Ceiling is papered in Anaglypta. Such a pain to remove. Steamer helped.
The 'Plaster' on the Ceiling is Grey apart from the Curve at the back of the House which has been badly patched with Normal Plaster.
Bit of damage near the Chimney Breast.

What is the Grey 'Plaster' likely to be?
Can I paint it?

I have been user a large Scraper on the Proud Plaster/filler to get it level with the Wall
Is there a better way?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The grey plaster is probably just gypsum plaster if it is post 1930s, or lime plaster if earlier. Lime plaster tends to be white through to grey or cream and you can often identify it by the presence of horse hair bonding embedded in the plaster. Gypsum is white in its' natural state. Where gypsum plaster is pink it is because there is marl in it, a natural impurity in the original rock and which imparts a pink colour to the plaster. For fine cracks you probably need a flexible filler, but I'll leave it to others to make a specific recommendation as it's been a while since I did any