I have a house in Southern California that is 75% covered with stucco. Can you give me advice – is it OK to paint stucco? My concern is what I have heard about stucco having to allow water to evaporate outward, so as not to retain water for long periods after a heavy rain, and not to rot what is underneath. I suppose some exterior paints would inhibit moisture escape. If painting is OK, is there any particular class of paint or paint property I should be looking for?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Upgrading the footings and columns that support a girder beam is an opportunity to level out the floor above.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
I also live in SoCal. Stucco is painted all the time. Prep it by power washing it and let it dry completely. While drying caulk cracks and areas where it meets other materials. If it is a sand finish you can roll paint on but if it is a heavily textured finish it is best to use a sprayer. I use and recommend Benjamin Moore paints and use a good quality latex with a pearl sheen but a flat finish is ok. The nice thing about stucco is a good, well prepped paint job will last 20 years or more.
Stucco is frequently painted, but that doesn't mean it's good to do.
"While it’s cheaper than re-stuccoing, painting stucco can lead to a host of moisture problems down the line, since the majority of exterior paints are designed to form a non-breathable membrane through which water is unable to escape.
Stucco typically lasts between 50 and 80 years. When it’s time to refresh yours, sandblast away the old layer and start from scratch.'
Maintenance - "Stucco can be cleaned with mild detergent and a rinse from the garden hose. Using a power washer is not recommended, as the force of the spray can result in damage to the plaster."
Frankie
Thanks for responding. I'll work with your advice.
I used MasterProtect elastomeric coating to paint my foundation but it's also used for stucco. It has two key advantages:
1. It has known rated permeability (i.e, in perms) so you get a known level of drying potential
2. Because it's elastomeric, it can can hide small cracks that move seasonally. On our foundation, we actually have some cracks that move quite a bit between the coldest temperatures in winter and highest in summer. We routed those out, put sealant in the joint and then coated the wall with Masterprotect and there's no signs of the cracks migrating through.