The wallpaper also often leaves stains on the wall even after it is removed. Use Easysand or Durabond to repair the damaged finish coat unless you have a source of lime putty. Durabond is so hard it is very difficult to sand. Easysand is just that, easier to sand. Both are setting type joint compounds. You should use a bonding agent on the areas needing repair. It prevents the old plaster from absorbing water the new material needs to cure correctly. EUCO WELD is a good brand. If you cannot find plaster bonding agent use Elmer's white glue cut 50% with water. In either case, paint the agent on and wait for it to get tacky before putting the patch on top.

If it looks BS, sounds like BS and smells like you know what, then it is. Old three-coat over lath plaster is put on in layers, the under layers (rough and scratch coats) can look a little rough, and they are supposed to be so for good adhesion. If your other walls are smooth then you have finish coat plaster on top, which is usually smooth as as silk. Its smoothness comes from the final polishing. My finish coat plaster is so smooth that little silicate (sand) particles in my unpainted bedroom ceiling will sparkle if the light hits them right. Now the contractor who did this, is he a plasterer, or something else? Did he use real plaster or joint compound? Is the plaster (if that's what it is) over lath or is a skim coat over board? And what is the nature of the roughness or texture: ripples, waves, orange peel or more than that? Also, though this may not be so important for modern plaster mixtures, older ones at least, need to cure and be primed before they can take any paint. Has anybody taken that into account? And yes, you can sand plaster; a big mess (lots of dust), but it can be done. Usually the problem is the other way around; in some areas of the country it is apparently customary to have a "knock-down" finish to plaster, in those cases the patch is often too smooth compared to the remaining walls. What was the outcome today? Good Luck! Molly~

Thanks for the advice! So, here is the follow up for anyone interested⦠I tried several products including a 2 step epoxy, a white glue (not E), goop, PlasterWeld and a thin liquid nail product with a fine dispensing tip. The thick stuff was too thick and I couldn't get it in the cracks. The PlasterWeld was too runny and just dripped through the lath to the floor. What I really wanted was a medium consistency product that could be injected in the crevices and used to reattach the keys. Boy, was I naïve about how tedious this would be AND about how long it would take. I reattached a bunch of keys on one section of one wall, tried to insert glue where there were gaps between the lath and plaster in a small area. Then I gave up. It would have taken hours and hours to really cover the walls. I have no idea if the newly glued keys will hold or if the fills in the gaps will help. But I tried! I am happy that the sheet rock will be going up over those exposed areas this week so I wonâÂÂt feel like I am supposed to keep trying. Again, thanks for the suggestions!

@RedRyder I walls has the thickest rustic plaster I have ever seen in life. It might be so glaring because of they owner didnt use flat or eggshell paint. I would like perhaps painting it matt as suggested by @User would make it less disturbing. While a Santa Barbara style plaster would be preferred, it would acceptable if it was toned down like this photo I am dangerous now that my daughter taught me to use screen shot. lol