Stucco Painting

Can you paint stucco?

Yes. Stucco takes paint well when it is clean, dry and sound, and when the coating lets moisture out of the wall instead of trapping it. Safe Choice Painting paints stucco homes across North Texas and southern Oklahoma, from full stucco exteriors to stucco accents above brick and stone, as part of our exterior painting work.

Elastomeric or masonry paint?

There are two common choices:

• Acrylic masonry paint is breathable, goes on like a regular exterior paint and suits stucco that is in good shape.
• Elastomeric coating is a thick, flexible acrylic built up in heavier coats. Behr describes its elastomeric masonry, stucco and brick paint as designed to expand and contract, bridging hairline cracks, with a breathable film that releases moisture from the wall. It calls for two coats.

Elastomeric is the better fit where hairline cracks keep coming back. It costs more per gallon and covers less area per gallon, and it changes the look of fine textures a little because it builds thicker. Once a wall has an elastomeric coat, future coats are usually elastomeric or a compatible acrylic.

Repairing stucco cracks before painting

Most stucco has some cracking. Before painting:

• Hairline cracks are cleaned and left for the elastomeric to bridge, or filled where a standard paint is used.
• Wider cracks are opened, cleaned out and patched. Behr's product data says cracks and gaps wider than 1/16 inch should be routed open and patched with an elastomeric patching compound.
• Patches, chalky areas and bare spots are primed so the finish looks even.
• Gaps around windows, doors and trim are caulked with acrylic caulk.

Crumbling stucco, bulges or soft spots that point to water behind the wall are flagged before any paint goes on, since paint will not fix them.

Why stucco has to dry before it's painted

Stucco is porous and holds water. It is cleaned first, usually by pressure washing at a gentle setting or soft washing to remove chalk and mildew, and then it needs time to dry through. Paint over damp stucco can blister and peel. NOAA's normals put Denton's wettest months in May, at 4.86 inches of rain, and October, at 4.64, so stucco jobs in those months build in drying days. New stucco needs longer still: Behr calls for new stucco and masonry to cure for 30 days before painting.

How stucco is painted

Stucco's rough surface has a lot of area for its size, so it takes more paint than smooth siding. The coating is sprayed and back-rolled, which pushes paint into the pores and texture so there are no pinholes or bare spots. Elastomeric coatings go on in two heavy coats, with dry time between them. Trim, doors, windows, light fixtures and the ground below are masked or covered first, and the edges where stucco meets brick, stone or wood trim are cut in by hand.

Before we arrive

Turn off sprinklers that hit the walls a day or two before the work starts, and keep them off until the paint has dried. Move planters and patio items a few feet from the walls. Plants along the foundation are covered during washing and painting, so if any are delicate, let us know and we will work around them.

Choosing a stucco color

Stucco shows color across large, flat walls, so samples are viewed on the wall in both sun and shade. Light colors stay cooler in summer. In HOA neighborhoods, check the rules first; in Lantana, exterior materials are governed by the Architectural Review Committee. We help with HOA color approvals by writing out the colors, products and areas to be painted.

Stucco, trim and accents together

Most stucco homes also have wood or fiber cement trim, metal railings, garage doors and sometimes brick or stone below. Painting them in the same visit means one setup and colors chosen together. Trim gets its own primer and an exterior acrylic enamel, metal is cleaned and primed where it has rusted, and stone is left unpainted unless you want it coated. Cracks where stucco meets trim are sealed with a flexible caulk so water stays out of the wall.

Nearby

• Stucco painting in Denton, TX
• Exterior painting
• Pressure washing
• Siding painting
• Brick house painting