How to: Removing Textured Paint

Hey all. I'm gearing up for some work in a guest bathroom in my house and need to remove the texturing from the walls in this room. Below is a photo of what I'm talking about but let me try to describe.

The entire house is drywall - I can't make that assumption in the bathroom simply because it's not clear if it's plaster or drywall (the house was built in '58 and every room, with the exception of this one, has been remodeled). There is a thick paint (at least looks like paint) kind of splattered on the wall which gives the effect of a thick oil painting. I'd like to smooth out these walls so that they look just like a regular drywall or plaster wall and then paint.

Can anyone offer a suggestion? Can I get by with scraping it off or sanding it down? Do I need to worry about it being plaster and messing up the wall? I'm trying to avoid taking it down to the studs as there is tile 1/2 way up the wall and do not want to get involved in removing the tile.

See picture (note, color is off due to lighting...but you see how bad it is!):

 

Welcome to the forums!

I'd scrape off what I could and then skim coat with joint compound. That should be less work than trying to remove all the texture.

 

Just scrape it off using a spackle blade or should I guy some sort of scraper from the local hardware store?

Thanks for the input!

 

Whatever works best for you. A pull scraper like you would use on exterior painting would be the most [faster] effective but care must be used so you don't tear into the drywall. A stiff broad knife shouldn't cause any damage and may be a safer alternative. All you are trying to accomplish by scraping is to limit the amount of j/c needed to get the wall smooth.

 

That is a close up of stomp texture or slap brush. That wont scrape off easy. Looks like its been painted over.

If it were me facing this task. I know it would be easier for me to replace the drywall in the bath.