In message .com,
writes
The FAQ suggests steaming off the existing artex - so I will do this
over the weekend. Then cut holes for recessed halogen lights. If it
is still rough I'll sand it fairly smooth.

Personally I never could face doing that in our house.

But before painting I assume it'll need a thin skim of plaster.

If it does then the steaming sanding would have been a waste of
time..... You can just skim Artex, though remove the largest nobbles
Is it
plaster or is there something else to use?

Well yes, finish plaster is the thing to use, but if the room is small
as sounds, then Polycell do some sort of ready mixed plaster skim stuff
that might make more sense for small job. Getting a good finish on
ceiling, even small one can be frustrating though.....

And does this just bond to
the plasterboard or does it need some form of preparation/adhesive?

In this situation I'd probably coat first with diluted PVA to help the
bonding.

But if I was doing it, I'd forget removing the artex etc. anyway. I
think I'd just whack up another sheet of plasterboard over the top and
decorate directly onto that. There is no need to skim (unless my tame
plasterer could fit it in easily I'd not bother in this case) unless you
want to. Use taper edged board and tape and fill the joint(s)
--
Chris French, Leeds