Plaster smooth or no?

[mrmike]

Okay so I stripped the wall paper and backing paper off of a feature wall, behind it I find rough plaster stuff that is dark brown. I thought it was supposed to be smooth? Looks like it has been skimmed with a brush...

Can I paint on this or do I have to sand it down?

My Dulux paint had lots of old hard flaky paint in it from the lid, is there anything I can do about that? Still half a tub left.

 

[timbook]

As a rule, you're not supposed to sand down unpainted plaster. Furthermore, it would take you a long time and a lot of energy. If you can't get a smooth skim on it, consider lining paper.
In relation to the paint, you could try a sieve. Or just pay close attention to it and make sure to remove any 'bits' as you go.

 

[mrmike]

I ended up just painting directly on the plaster, the roughness disappeared after a few coats. It's matte paint. Looks fine. Sieve worked well.

 

[timbook]

Well, at least it worked out!

 

[Nige F]

Old tights are better than a sieve