right 1st things first. The result you get on your walls wil only be as good as the effort you put in preparing them, so get ready for a bit of hardwork and elbow grease. The "pink stuff" on the walls is plaster quite normal dont worry!
You say you have stripped the wallpaper off, now make sure you give the walls a good wash with either sugar soap or hot water and detergent to get the remains of the paper and paste off of the wall. Remove any screws. Any screwholes can be filled with a fine surface wall filler. Fill them slightly proud of the wall. If you have any wall plugs in the wall give them a tap to push them in, then fill them as before. Any hairline cracks can be filled with filler or decorator caulking, which can also be used along the top of the skirting and around the door frame. Once youve done all that, then give the walls a rub down with some sandpaper, 120 grit should be fine. You are looking to smooth down all the filler you have applied and get rid of any small bumps or lumps.
Once the wall is ready then you can paint. Unless it is a bathroom or kitchen there is no need to use anything other than a normal emulsion. Dont buy cheapy brands go for a decent quality such as dulux or johnsons. Buy yourself a couple of decent brushes (eg harris) (2" and 1" should be enough) and a decent roller. They are not much more expensive than cheap crap ones but they will give much better results.
Cut in all the edges with your brushes along the corners, by the ceiling and doors etc, basically anywhere you wont get a roller into and where you want a straight line. Cutting in is a bit of an art, but basically load your brush with paint, but not too much. Carefully put it onto the wall and and bring it up to the edge where you want a straight line and go along the edge with it. Once you have done that you can roller the wall with the emulsion. Again load the roller evenly , but not with too much or you will speckle yourself with paint. apply the roller in even strokes and dont press too hard, let the roller do the work. Keep the wet edge of the paint going as you work towards the end of a wall (start at the other end) overlap as you go. Get a good even coat on it. Once its dried do it all again and it should look fine.
Why do you mention anti-damp paint do you have a particular problem in the room?
Thermo
