Nice job of removing the acoustic! Trying to get a smooth finish on drywall is tough because the paper is more porous than the mud joints and will show no matter how finely feathered the edges. One way is to size the entire surface lightly by applying your mud, but wiping off as much as possible. This is similar to skim coating with the exception that you are not leaving a thin layer of mud to try and get an even surface. This is best accomplished with skim coating plaster over blue board.The advantage that you have ,however, is that your ceiling is already somewhat sized because of the acoustic being sprayed on. Even though you have removed the texture, the mud base of the acoustic is still on and adhered to the dry wall. You might give it a go yourself by filling any imperfections, sanding smooth the entire surface.Any bare drywall spots that might present their self you can size as explained. Start with a small area of the cieling and see how you feel about it.If you have the confidence, move ahead. If not, get a pro.

Thanks! I tried not to gauge the ceiling by working with a small section at a time. I will try the method you described and see how it works out. Is there a particular grit size I should get for the sanding (finer vs. coarser)?

There aren't too many bare drywall spots and the ones that we do have are pretty small in size. I assume once this is done and I'm satisfied with the smoothness of the ceiling, I can go ahead and prime it for painting?

Coarser in the rough areas(100 grit) followed by fine (150 grit),everywhere. Feather out the edges of any heavy spots with coarse followed by fine.You dont have to put a lot of pressure when sanding,especially on the fine part. Just light feathered sanding, prime and paint.Be sure to brush the dust off the wallboard before primer/paint.

Safety up! When sanding, use a pair of goggles that seal around your eyes as the dust will somtimes fall in small clumps when sanding a ceiling. Also wear a quality dust mask and change it out often.

Thanks so much for your help! I will get started this weekend.

Best of luck.The only thing that i can think of to look out for is that sometimes a hardened peice of mud,(the size of a grain of sand), will get on your sanding pad and will cause a scratch in areas that are mudded, and you dont always catch it. It will show up when you paint. Do a detailed inspection for this. Some people use a light and shine along the area to look for cracks ,ridges,and edges that need to be feathered out. The cracks caused by a hardened peice can be easily feathered out, or if severe, apply a little mud,let dry, and sand.Have fun,Be safe!

I think it's faster, easier, and better to install new sheetrock than to mess around with scraping and patching old popcorn or texture.

John

You can get 1/4" drywall, and simply screw it to the joists, right over the existing drywall (esp. if the existing drywall is still firmly in place)--no real need for furring strips or new framing.

On a seriously deranged ceiling ,i agree that it would be cleaner to re- rock the lid, but the poster did a fine job of removal. Why go through the time and effort of re- hanging,taping,mudding, when she has a clean slate to work on that is for the most part complete.You also have to consider extending electrical and ducting concerns when veneering over with more rock.