Painter sanding Artex, no skim – is this a thing?

My inlaws have a painter redecorating some rooms in their new house. To tackle the Artex ceilings the painter is sanding it off then painting, but with no skim before the paint. (Artex has been tested for asbestos). Apparently they “now have the sanding tech” that can allow them to do this. I guess this is a lightweight drywall sander with good extraction. They’ve had one room done and the finish looks fine under the recessed downlighters (i.e. you can’t see it). I’m not sure what it’s going to look like with light shining upwards on it….

Is this a common approach to Artex? I’d always thought the most cost effective approach was overboarding and taping. This loses 10mm from the ceiling height. Alternatively, removing it then skimming.

its certainly a thing, with a specific tool for the job.

i would have pressumed  a skim would follow, but i guess there would be no need if its sanded well enough. bad plaster jobs get sanded.

How old is the Artex? If it’s in an older house, did anyone test for asbestos?

You say Artex was tested for asbestos. What was the result?

ours was sanded to remove the larger lumps before the skimming

I’ve had various plasterers in to cover up artex as I’ve decorated my way around this house over the past 10 years. Every one of them has chipped the high spots off with a 10” blade on a broom handle, then skimmed.

i guess if a painter can achieve an acceptable finish without having a second trade in, then it’s a good solution. Dust extraction must be a hugely powerful unit to work acceptably tho!

I have the light swirly artex and the builders going to board under.  Win win, as I want more insulation.  I thought he would sand it down, but I suppose its pretty messy.

I have the light swirly artex and the builders going to board under.  Win win, as I want more insulation

Plus you can just remove the boarding when it’s back ‘in’.

How old is the Artex? If it’s in an older house, did anyone test for asbestos?

You say Artex was tested for asbestos. What was the result?

Negative. Plus I think the house was built a couple of years post-ban, but it was done just to be sure.

i guess if a painter can achieve an acceptable finish without having a second trade in, then it’s a good solution

Yes it is. But I’ve never heard of it being done before, neither have other people, as apparently quite a few neighbours are interested in getting the same painter in. The downlighters were too dazzling to get a look at the finished painted surface. We’ll see soon enough as they’ll put lamps etc back in. I did see it after it was sanded and before being painted. It looked very patchy, but it’s whether that comes through the paint.

Dust extraction must be a hugely powerful unit to work acceptably tho

If it’s using Abranet mesh type abrasive then a portable dust extraction vac should be ok.
I’ve used this myself and it was impressively dust free
https://www.toolstation.com/mirka-dust-extraction-handy-sander-kit/p86220