Walls and Ceilings - Removing Orange Peel

Hi,
I'm new to this forum, but I've been reading through here a while and think that it's great the way you help out us DIY'ers. I just bought a house, and unfortunately the walls need quite a bit of work. They currently have an orange peel texture covered with several coats of semi-gloss. Instead of re-texturing the areas that need repair, I'd like to remove the texture and make it all smooth. Any advise on how to get rid of the current texture? I've heard scraping, sanding, and skim coat is the best way, but I'm worried that scraping the walls might also remove the layer of paper on the drywall. Is this a problem? I've tried scoring the walls and wetting them down, but since there's a thick coat of semigloss paint, it doesn't seem to soften up the texture any. Any advise would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Mike

You wont be able to scrape off any texture. Especially with the paint over it. The best way is to skim the walls smooth with mud.

Ok, that sounds doable, thanks! When filling joints and holes, I know that you need to put down 4 or 5 coats of joint compound in order for it to not have problems down the line. Is this the same with the skim coat?

Skim coating can usually be done with one coat. All you are doing is filling in the 'dimples' in the orange peel. Apply 1 coat, sand when dry, inspect/fix any defects and prime. Thin the joint compound a little for ease of application.

Cool, thanks! That seems much easier than trying to scrape off all the existing texture.