1940’s cavity wall brickwork painted and not sure of mortar type for repairs

[Apasc]

My newly purchased 1940s bungalow needs some cavity wall (has CWI) brick work pointing repairs as some sections missing/bare - exposed brickwork below the roughcast.
Problem is that someone has made a really bad job of “painting” the brickwork externally. So I have a number of queries I would really appreciate some advice on please:
1. Should I attempt to remove the paint from the external brickwork, and if yes, how would I best go about this?
2. Does the pointing look like lime or cement mortar? Is there a way I can determine? - will attempt to attach some external and internal photos.
3. Should I attempt to repoint internally under floor or will repointing externally be enough protection for the building?
4. If after remedial work the bricks don’t look so good, could I paint them to blend in, and if so, which product should I ideally use?
5. Anything else I should consider?
Thanks in advance.

 

[alexander]

its cement your building is built with, the rendering should really have a bell drip bead on it to allow water to run off without hitting the wall, the paint work on the bricks below this should really not create any great issue unless its worn & cracked allow water to lie behind the paint keeping the bricks damp they should also be below the damp proof course & any CWI installed, the fact you have a cavity between the bricks should prevent any penetrating damp unless there is a build up of debris in the cavity reaching a level above the damp proof course,
the render should be well maintained to stop water ingress getting trapped behind it & creating penetrating damp with the cavity wall insulation allowing a bridge across the external to internal brickwork.
good luck

 

[Apasc]

Thank you so much, this is great information for me, and very much appreciated. I can now get to work, either myself or getting a builder in, to repoint external areas where pointing is broke/missing.
Could a builder retrofit a bell drip bead, or is there anything else I could consider doing?

 

[a twig]

Eminently DIY-able - some very lovely chap documented his efforts here