How do you smooth out a rough ceiling. Thicker than a popcorn ceiling

I worked with a drywall contractor on my first home and he showed me how to do this. In my case it was adhesive on the wall put on with a notched trowel. He simply used drywall joint compound to put a skim coat all over the wall, just the same as plastering. If the compound was too thick he used latex paint to thin the compound, adding some durability to the coating, but it is harder to sand.

TAKE IT DOWN! Its easier than you think. Get a metal plastic scraper/wide putty knife, a sprayer that you would use outside to kill weeds with (or a spray bottle), some paint tarps for the floor and a ladder And a wet cloth. It takes time but easy to accomplish. Steady you ladder. Spray water on the ceiling, working in small sections, wait a couple of minutes and scrap off with scraper. I didn’t want the scrapings to fall all over the tarps so I used a cardboard box with 2 inch sides to catch the pieces as they fell, this made for much less mess. Start in a closet or spot that is not seen often and practice there first. I did 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a huge (30ft. X 20ft.) living room, dining room, laundry room and kitchen and 2 very large hallways as well as 4 pretty good sized closets. It took me approx. 2 months to complete. I was 60 at the time. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

Fill a spray bottle with water, wet it, and scrape it off.

Need to repair this kind of ceiling. Cracks, and holes. How do I re recreate texture?