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(This is all just my opinion; I find it easier to talk about or explain something when I act as though I know what I'm talking about. Always find your own way though if something I say doesn't fit with you)
You can absolutely achieve an astral projection from a lucid dream, no doubt. They're two distinct experiences, but you can access either one from the other with enough control.
You're correct in thinking that dream recall would be an advantage in developing an ability to lucid dream, as does vivid dream recall, and of course keeping a dream journal. If you keep yourself interested, and make sure you try different techniques (particularly napping to lucidity/wake-back to bed technique), and/or do any one of a number of other helpful things (if you can't find them anywhere and want me to make you list I will), you should have decent luck; Expect/Intend and it will happen. That's how lucid dreams work too, if you didn't know that.
Anyway, I would suggest first getting a good grasp of the lucid dream state before trying to switch to an astral projection; That way you won't lose control of your mental state immediately and wake up. If you sort of work at it as though it's a muscle you're only really working with for the first time, then you won't get discouraged by failed attempts early on. Just experiment until you can maintain a lucid dream for a decent duration at a high level of awareness (which will likely vary as much as duration early on). Once you can do that, a good approach to an exit/projection is first to stop the sensory perception aspect of the dreaming, particularly the visual aspect; You want to let everything you see in the dream just fade away. Imagine that you're sort of shedding yourself of the dream like a cloak or something. You can also do something similar by imagining yourself just closing your eyes and having your dream self do so, though this can sometimes lead you to wake up immediately if you're not focused or lucid enough before you do it.
I hesitate to say what this looks or feels like because of expectation effects and all, but some people don't understand it and miss the opportunity, or become frightened of it when they experience it, and it's extremely common to hear it described similarly (in my experience), so I'll just explain it this way. When you're out of the dream but still conscious in that altered state that comes after (the hypnagogic state/vibratory state/trance/etc.), you might have visual/auditory/other perceptions, you might feel rushes of energy in your body, you might feel like you're heart is beating so fast that you must be about to have a heart attack; All of these things are completely normal, and the trick is to remain relaxed through them. Once you're in the hypnagogic state, the process is just like a regular astral projection as if you meditated into it; All that comes next is deepening your state of relaxation, and then performing an exit technique (rolling out of your body, or many others).
All of that said, it's also entirely possible to astral project directly from a lucid dream without focusing as much on the hypnagogic/trance state as an intermediary, though this can lead some people to have an experience in their lucid dream which seems like an astral projection, but very well might simply be another experience on the mental plane/remaining within the dream. Then again, not everyone has a problem with that, so it will always come down to the individual – their strengths, their emotional state, their previous experiences, and so on. Ultimately just use what people suggest as a guideline to figure out what works best for you. I had one lucid dream experience where I literally just yelled "I want out!" with the intention of exiting my body in an astral projection, and it yanked me out immediately. So that is certainly possible with enough awareness and focused intention.
Long-winded, I know, but I thought this question deserved a proper response. It's been an extremely fulfilling thing for me personally and I think a lot of people would appreciate it too if they knew how to go about it.
Best of luck!
Happy to help if you have questions
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