What to use on dirty smoke stained walls?

Hi In order to get rid of the smoke stains you must clean the walls with a damp cloth as much as possible followed by a coat of Stain Block Primer. Once everything is dry you should be ready for top coats without having any stains showing trough the finish. Kind regards Eduard EdDecs

Hi. I have to say this is the first time ive seen sugar soap mentioned in a question on here! You certainely tried the same route of preperation as i would have done, but as you say if its not coming away then it is to be coated. You could try painting with a coat of good quality emulsion and see when dry if any of the soot etc emerges as staining, then spot treat with zinsser b.i.n and repaint. To simplify though i would recommend either zinsser permawhite or ceiling pro 5 in 1 or the ceilings. 2 coats and its all primed, sealed and finished. For the walls again zinsser permawhite, the only drawback being its only available in white or tintable to pastel colours at dec merchants

Again a shellac primer should hold the stains back. Some products of use you can apply directly over the stained areas without washing down, but in some cases you may have to wash down with a de greasing agent then as a suggestion you could use an oil based eggshell in white as a base coat to seal the areas and let it thoroughly dry before applying any further coats.