How to Prep for Painting your Stucco Home

Everyone loves a painted stucco home. They are extremely popular in hot, dry climates but you will find stucco homes in just about every state in America. A home built with stucco can last for decades with the proper maintenance. But if there isn’t paint on the stucco, it will not last as long.

Stucco is a material made of cement, water, and sand. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, external building siding, and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture.

As we mentioned before, stucco can be managed easily if cleaned often and any cracks are repaired promptly.

But how do you prep & paint stucco to keep it looking great?

CertaPro can help if you are considering painting your stucco. Our experts know & understand what needs to be done to prepare it for paint and how to paint it for fabulous results. Here are some tips for prepping your stucco home for paint.

The preparations and paint application techniques for stucco are no less important than the quality of the paint you use. It doesn’t make any difference how good the paint is; it simply won’t stick unless the surface is clean.

In order to get the best results with painting stucco, CertaPro suggests a thorough power washing to clean the surface and remove chipped and peeling paint. The areas of your home that are closest to the ground should be scrubbed with a coarse nylon brush and powdered laundry detergent. A mixture of 1/3 cup of laundry detergent to one gallon of hot water. You should add a quart of bleach to this mixture if mildew is present on the surface of the stucco.

Here are a few things to watch out for when painting your stucco home:

If you are painting a new stucco home, the stucco needs sufficient time to dry and cure. Curing extracts the excess lime in the stucco. If this process is rushed or not allowed to cure, the surface will begin to crumble and deteriorate quickly. CertaPro suggests allowing at least 60 days for this step. You should wait longer if you have unusually wet weather.

Sometimes, stucco will crack causing the paint to peel off. If you find cracks & holes, they must be filled before painting. Otherwise, water will enter your home, even through paint, causing more damage. This will also cause mold to grow behind the surface.

This mistake is true of most surface painting. Paint won’t adhere properly to any dirty surfaces. The paint will quickly begin to flake and peel. To avoid this, like mentioned above, try pressure washing the stucco. This will remove most of the dirt and grime.

An important note: If you’ve patched the stucco, allow it to dry for at least 15-30 days before washing.

Once again, you should not paint any surface that is wet. Stucco is especially porous. That means it takes longer to dry, so make sure to wait until then to apply your first coat of paint. It’s also important to let each coat dry completely before applying the next one.

Stucco can be painted using a roller or with an airless sprayer. Brushes are usually not recommended except for when completing detailed work. An airless sprayer makes larger projects much easier. But a roller will work fine for smaller jobs

Painting stucco is very tricky and requires specific expertise to get the best results. Deciding to paint it yourself may produce less-than-satisfactory results. Also, hiring the wrong painter can be a mistake. Not all painters are proficient in painting stucco, like CertaPro Painters. That’s why you need to hire professionals, like us, who have the knowledge and experience with stucco surfaces to create the perfect painted stucco finish.

We are experts in painting all surfaces and we know exactly how to prepare your home for a painting project. You can trust us to give you the best possible finish for your home.