I have an unsightly exterior brick courtyard wall. Mortar extrudes from all joints and the whole wall has been painted. Questions re rendering:

1. What is the best way to remove the paint in order to render? Or do I even need to do this if using a polymer render followed by an acrylic one? (I've been reading previous posts and it's a bit confusing!)

2. What is the best method when rendering a very uneven surface? Should I leave this to a professional? I've been told it can be difficult to get someone in for such a "small" job - compared to rendering a whole house.

3. Should I get permission from the neighbour before commencing work as our garden wall is also the side of his garage.

Thanks for any advice....

i believe anything is possible it all depends on how long you want to spend doing it or how much money you have to spend getting it do .
I got the interior of an appartment rendered and (white set )plastered and the bricks had been painted (note to self use gyprock next time ) it is a $hit job but can be done if you find somebody to do it or have the time .
first you need to ech the bricks to get a good bond . between the render and the bricks bondcrete will help but eching the bricks is wise and can be done using a dimond grinding pad on an angle grinder to do this . If the brick work is bad i would imagine that it would be best to do two coats . one to get the wall flat and then a second top coat .

As for asking the nieghbours if it is your land and not part of a strata then i think no need .

hope this helps but I'm no expert .

Rob