I first stripped the wallpaper from my bedroom walls using a steam stripper and scraper.
This revealed a lurid pink paint on the walls and a peculiar purple ceiling paint which came off in sheets like vinyl. The ceiling is now stripped revealing a blue paint which I intend to leave on and give a light sanding. The pink wall paint comes off like Mozarella cheese after the steamer has been held over it for a little while. It's painfully slow progress and I don't know whether to continue stripping it. I have considered buying a hot air gun to use instead of the steamer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Walls – How to remove old paint from plaster walls
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If your house was built before the 1940's, it's probably a layer of wood lath, followed by a standard 2x4 stud wall with no insulation. Perhaps some knob-and-tube wiring just to make things interesting. The plaster will make more dust than you thought possible (wear a mask).
After the 1940's, it's probably gypsum board, but without the foaming agents and plasticizers that make today's drywall easier to use. Behind it, you probably have a 2x4 stud wall with no insulation and conduit or NM wiring.
[Here's a picture of a lath wall from the back, courtesy Wikipedia]
In older structural brick buildings, it was relatively common to plaster directly to the exterior brick walls. Most of this plaster has successfully held for 100+ years, so if you were to simply remove the loose plaster and re-plaster I would imagine that it would hold for quite a long time as well.
However it plastering is a bit of a lost art and can be very time consuming and expensive. You could also install some furring strips directly over the existing walls and ceilings and drywall.
I guess the decision would depend on if your goal is to retain the current plaster, or simply to have functional walls and ceilings. It almost always works out to be less expensive to install furring strips and drywall. Also depending on the situation this gives you an opportunity to add some insulation.
Best Answer
The two standard ways to strip paint is heat or chemicals. Both are labor intensive and messy, and chemicals are caustic. I assume you are planning to strip the paint only because you are left with an uneven surface after it was already partly removed? Otherwise, just paint over it right?
It might be easier to lightly scrape to remove loose paint, then skim coat the whole surface with finishing plaster. Some light sanding afterwards, and you're ready for prime coat.