Having pulled the tiles from a wall we want to paint, I am pondering how best to get a good finish. The function of the room is such that its occupant will frequently be spending upwards of several minutes sitting less than a foot from the walls, and I’ve also ordered quite a bright light fitting, so the blemishes and irregularities which lend such character to the rest of the house will be less easily ignored.

The problem is that the tile removal took with it much of the underlying paint (which is some kind of shiny pink stuff, presumably bathroom-specific) , leaving much of the lower half showing patches of bare plaster. Although the plaster is good and smooth, I’m not sure about the finish with two different starting surfaces.

My current favourite plan is
1 fillsandwashfillsandwashetc until smooth as possible
2 apply a mist coat to the plaster-y bits
3 apply a good quality undercoat, mainly to the lower half
4 2+ top coats

Will I be able to effectively paint over the gaps in this way? Or will I be left with noticeable layers where the existing undercoat remains?

The function of the room is such that its occupant will frequently be spending upwards of several minutes sitting less than a foot from the walls,

I’m sure the person being interrogated/tortured won’t mind about the state of the wall

It rubs the lotion on its skin.

Perhaps. What if I used a very thin layer of filler to smooth over the whole area where the tiles were?

paint the gaps – that wont work itll just highlight them.

just get it skimmed properly or it will bug you for ever.

I’m sure the person being interrogated/tortured won’t mind about the state of the wall

Exactly.

Scrape it back thoroughly so that all loose paint is removed – coat with PVA – infill with Easi fill- rub down smooth – paint – 2nd application of filler if necessary – then paint up as normal – Shouldnt take long – but don’t use cheap filler unless you know how to mix up properly ..

Like noltae said.