bad vinyl patches by previous owner - how to smooth?

pairadocs

The 2 walls on either side of the fireplace have bad thick vinyl spackle patches. The patches are 4"x4" approx, and irregular shapes.

I can tell they tried to quickly spackle over some drywall anchors from prior shelving.

There must have been 3 or 4 shelves on each wall, because both sides of the walls have these giant ugly patches that the prior owners never sanded smooth.

So I have to fix both sides, top to bottom, floor to ceiling (8ft height).
needless to say, it looks awful.

My question is: should i sand them down which will leave a deeper defect b/c the stuff comes off like a thick skin?

Or, should i try to skim coat over them, floor to ceiling, without sanding over them?

In other words, do I just build it up? or do i 'break' it down before i build it up?

thanks in advance.

JohnCarpenter

Assuming you have drywall, clean it all up, then start over with drywall mud.

Don't try top repair a repair. It never works. Just start over and do it right the first time.

______________________
Johnny Jackson
http://www.jljacksonremodeling.com