How to remove paint from bathroom ceiling?

rflook

Hi,

I am currently decorating my house to make it look presentable for sale. The bathroom ceiling has been getting flakey for a while now so I have decided to tackle it. However, what I thought would be an easy fix, has turned into a bit of a nightmare really.

I have been tackling the ceiling by using a putty knife, but the problem appears to be how the ceiling was decorated by the previous owners. Some parts of the paint seem to have what can only be described as a grey, fine substance under it. Where this exists, the paint is easy to take off. However this substance isn't everywhere and therefore in some places, the paint seems to have been painted directly onto the ceiling (not sure if it is plasterboard or not). In these locations the paint is impossible to take off with the putty knife without accidentally digging in to the ceiling itself.

What would people recommend for completely removing all paint from the ceiling. I have seen some threads saying heat guns would be a good idea, others seem to indicate steam tools would be good and others even extoll the virtues of vigorous sanding. Any help truly appreciated.

FreeBear

Steam is certainly not a good idea on plasterboard ceilings. Probably the safest way is to give the surface a sanding and then paint over with a decent emulsion.