Funny question - guess you could experiment and just try it again? Maybe youre on to something that will completely revolutionize paint stripping as we know it!

FWIW I had similar result using product called "smart strip" on some old paint on porch last summer - had to use scraper, but it took off about 5 thick layers very easily down to the original paint layer in solid dry sheets that hung together and what residue remained washed off easily. Didnt stink hardly at all - cannot stand ones with strong odor and are really goopy and hard to completely remove.

Are you sure it was all paint, was the first layer wall paper? Which
will remove easily due to old wallpaer paste being wheat flour &
easily dissolved in water. IF thats what it is - you're in luck because
scrubbing it with hot water is all you need, no stripper or anything
else.

Pictures are always helpful

I see this a lot with plaster, where the paint just isn't stuck well, and all you need to do is add the moisture of a new layer of paint plus the sheer weight of it in order to essentially remove a lot of the old paint layers right down to the bare plaster. The problem is that it is rare that you will be able to remove all of it. Usually, what you find is that some of it is stuck really well and some of it is not. Have you tried to just remove the old paint with a scraper? If you can get a stiff putty knife under the paint, you may be able to get a bunch of it off without much effort.

Many thanks for the replies, and sorry my original post was one long paragraph. I didn't notice until this afternoon that all the separate paragraphs ran together after I posted.

Anyway, the pictures below show (1) bubbled paint, (2) & (3) peeled and unpeeled ceiling and (4) a small pile of peeled ceiling.

I'm glad for the warning from paintguy22 that not all of the ceiling might not peel so easily. 'Guess I'll find out this weekend! Regarding removing the old paint with a scraper, the paint in other rooms seems like it's well adhered, but I'll give it a try. Much more affordable than using several coats of paint.

Thanks also to Current Resident for the suggestion to make sure there wasn't any wall paper. Nope. I'll look into the "smart strip," though. There's pretty much just a single coat of primer and a single coat of paint throughout the house.

I'd be certain that there are not places where the ceiling and wall paint have dried together. I Would hate for you to be stripping a piece off the ceiling and accidentally pull a chunk off the wall. (if that even applies, hard to tell from pics). Could use razor blade to score connection of wall and ceiling if it does apply.

From there, here are some general guidelines just in case it helps at all:

Lay down the drop cloths to cover the floor under the ceiling.

Scrape away as much loose paint as possible using the paint
scraper.

Then a wire brush or similar type tool if needed for difficult spots.

(hopefully this step wont apply)

Repair any holes or cracks with patching
compound. Apply the compound with the putty knife and smooth it in a thin layer
to fill in these areas along the wall. Allow the patching compound to dry
completely.

(hopefully this step wont apply -to the tenth power)

Sand the ceiling over the repaired areas to make it smooth and even
with the surrounding ceiling before applying the primer. Wipe off the ceiling with a tack cloth to remove dust.

Apply the primer to the ceiling first to seal it and prevent
moisture problems.

Allow the primer to *fully* dry according to the drying time
recommended on the container.

Apply the latex paint and allow it to dry and then apply a second coat, if you desire.

Remove drop cloth.

Good Luck. Lets hope it all peels off in relatively large pieces like pics 1 & 2 and leaves you a nice surface.

Would love to see pics as you go along. I'm sure I'd learn something.

I'm betting that this was caused by using latex paint over oil. You're lucky it didn't just alligator.

As much as I hate rolling oil paint, when ever I had this situation, I used oil paint.The water in latex paint aggravates the poor bond to the plaster. The latex bonds to the old oil paint, but then schrinks as it dries. The old oil is hard and brittle and the drying latex breaks the bond of the old oil paint to the plaster

I generally used easy sand "hot mud" to do my patching, followed by a non-water based primer. The easy sand hot mud has much better adhesion to the slick plaster and feathers out better.

what is hot mud.....as opposed to room tenp or other types of mud

Hot mud comes in a dry powder and must be mixed with water. Unlike regular drywall mud, it dries chemically. It comes in several speeds: 5,20,45,etc. Once you mix it, that is how much time you have to work with it before it sets. The Easy Sand version is just that. Although it sands better if you wait until all the water has left the mud.

Thanks again everyone!

The ceiling paint is all but gone now. I had to quit before I drove my poor husband crazy. I'll see about testing my luck again tomorrow night :)

The hall's about 24' long. Here's the south end before I started down that way:

Here's the south side after I gave up tonight:

The pic below shows the last paint to be removed. I'm afraid paintguy22 was spot-on about expecting some of the paint be easier to remove and some to be more difficult. This last bit has been quite difficult, and I'm glad I didn't start on this end!

I really appreciate My Paint Saint's suggestion to score between the ceiling and walls. I still managed to mess up a few places on the walls. I'm guessing it would be better to sand and fix the walls first...? Or, maybe the answers to these next questions answer the first question :)

Removing the old paint revealed many more cracks than I patched the first time around. I used something called "Flex 'n Fill Premium Spackling Paste" from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-8-oz-Flex-n-Fill-Premium-Spackling-Paste-8874-GA/204369668 20-odd years ago I kept trying to fix a plaster crack with *regular* (whatever that was) spackling compound, but the crack kept reappearing whenever the weather changed (hot/cold/wet/dry). This "Flex 'n Fill" is supposed to stay flexible. Does anyone have good/bad experience with it? Should I just use it on the couple worst cracks (e.g. 2nd picture, left of the first light fixture) and use patching compound everywhere else? I haven't researched "hot mud" yet, but I will. Whichever way I go, would it be better to fix the ceiling then work on the walls? Other way around?

Lastly, Anglophilia's comment about latex over oil ... I'd read that combination was an accident waiting to happen. When I first went to SW for help, I bemoaned the fact I'd neglected to check the existing paint type before I painted over it and feared I might have put latex paint over oil paint. The clerk said it's only problematic when people put oil over latex. That seemed the opposite of what I'd read here, but I went on my way. When I went back to SW with my disaster story, I told the clerk (a different one) that the reason I had a shopping bag of peeled ceiling paint might be because I painted latex over oil. Same response as the first time: Only oil over latex causes problems. So confusing!

Oh, and, just for fun, here's where we started - removing two layers of red wallpaper (looking toward the north in this pic). That ice scraper turned out to be THE BEST tool for removing wall paper after the steamer went across the paper :)

Many thanks again to everyone!