I want to get rid of an ugly brick fireplace in the easiest manner. Is it possible to just prime it and use venetian plaster paint... or use a quick crete or sand topping over the brick and then prime and paint that?

If paint alone is OK (not hiding the shapes of the brick) as you first mention, then they make paint designed for brick, concrete, etc that's a bit thicker than normal paint.. . a good priming and painting of it will do just fine.

Your local Lowes/HomeDepot/Sears Hardware will carry it.

Rickj,
Thanks for the response.. . However, I want to cover up the outline of the bricks... that's why I was thinking of venetian plaster paint. I thought I could put it on thick enough to cover up the outline. Do you think that would work?

I've used a variety of texture paint and other thicker stuff, but never venetian plaster. My only concern would be whether it can be applied thick enough to set right and not crack - without having to do it in many coats in the deeper recesses of the mortar.

I think I'd lean more toward using simple mortar... skimming it smooth and just using a brick/concrete paint on it.

Hang tight a few to see if others might pipe in on this with alternative suggestions, and if not, head over to Sherwin Williams or Pittsburgh Paints (don't rely on advice from the bumblers at Lowes/HomeDepot) and see what product they recommend.

Good luck with it, babe.

rickj,
thanks for the response . . . . however, i want to cover up the outline of the bricks.... that's why i was thinking of venetian plaster paint. I thought i could put it on thick enough to cover up the outline. Do yu think that would work?
How about put 1/4 sheetrock over it

That would work too, but not super easily. I've seen guys use liquid nails to put the sheetrock on the brick but haven't seen it turn out wonderfully. The alternative is to frame it then apply the drywall, but then you lose a couple inches... and securing the framing to the brick would be time consuming.

I'm still leaning toward thinking mortar or something else to "plaster it over" is the option I'd go for.

I want to do the same thing - cover a brick fireplace with something that looks nicer, smoother. I was wondering about filling the cracks with joint compound or something and then another layer of joint compound over all with a huge trowel, then the Venetian plaster. Concerned the stuff might fall out of the cracks between the bricks or just crumble?

Don't use joint compound! It's for drywall, not brick, an it's only for use in thin applications [thus not joints in brickwork]

Plastering is likely your best bet [here in UK a lyme based is often used, good with the heat, but no idea if you have that there, it's more of homemade concotion]. If the brick isn't too smooth, it's a perfect surface for plastering [ex-met not needed]. Anyway, a normal exterior 3 coat system is good [though you likely won't need 3 coats for an interior application]. Before plastering the first coat [not too thick, it needs to cure properly and evenly], spray the brick with water from a spray bottle [this prevents the brick from drawing the moisture out of the plaster, thus it wouldn't cure properly]. You can use a bonding agent [which is applied to the brick before plaster, and does the same thing as the spry water basically, but not necessary]. Anyway, screed/roughly apply the first layer [so the next layer has a good surface upon which to bond], then apply the next layer [again not too thick] and smooth to satisfaction. If you're not used to plastering though, think about getting someone else to do it, it's very easy to bugger up.

The lime plaster I was talking about is basically lime, water, and gauging plaster

I just did this to a brick fireplace. I screwed stucco mesh to it with tapcons then base coated it with stucco. Finish coated with white stucco finish.

If the brick's rough enough, no need for ex-met [what I assume you call stucco mesh]. A rough brick with even slightly reccessed joints will give you a good surface to apply on.

I need to cover up some concrete blocks and the way I plan to do it is with wallpaper. From what I've been researching, this seems to be the best solution and you should be able to use it for your fireplace (bricks) as well.

You'll need to prime the bricks, put a layer of "underlayment" wallpaper over the bricks, then you can get paintable (textured) wallpaper over that.

I haven't done mine yet, but this seems to be a reasonable approach.

I'm looking for info on refinishing brick for a fireplace. I want to keep mine, just make it look good and will probably put a protective sealant over it for longevity.

Here's some resources if they'll go through:

underlayment (http://www.decoratetoday.com/products/wallpaper/product_detail.asp?ptn=DZ6025A8&PD1=0&flagback=False&Scrm=0&P=WP&N=4294967258&No=15&Nty=1&Ntk=search%5Fpattern&Ntt=paintable+wallpaper&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&results=1,%201,%201&si=4)

A set of wallpaper hanging instructions (http://www.usawallpaper.com/embossed.html)

Another idea is to cover those brick fire places with Stone. There is not a better look for a fire place than to have stone to enjoy and it does adhere well to the brick.