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Discussion Forum

Painting Stucco

butte | Posted in General Discussion on August 2, 2008 09:12am

You all gave me some great advice last year on painting and prepping an old bldg in the west.

Now, humid southern IL. House built in 1910, top shingles and bottom  stucco. Really thick stucco in pretty good shape, some pealing paint.

Sherwin Williams has some elastomeric paint; worker didn’t know much about it.

Do we pressure wash stucco to remove loose paint? Do we need to prime the stucco? Should we use the elastomeric or duration?

Thanks.

 

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  1. Hudson Valley Carpenter | Aug 03, 2008 05:52am | #1

    Pressure washer is best but be careful with the nozzle adjustment and how close you put it to the painted surface.  Too close with a narrow high pressure stream will remove stucco along with the loose paint. 

    I've always painted stucco with masonry paint made by a major brand, like Behr.  Priming bare stucco first seals the stucco and give the top coat a more uniform appearance.  Of course the stucco must be completely dry before any paint is applied.

    It's an easy job as painting goes.  Two novices can usually paint a one story house, stucco surfaces only, in one easy day. 

    A nine inch roller with an aluminum extension pole allows a painter to move around the house, covering most surfaces quickly while standing on the ground.

    Cutting around windows and trim can be done off a step ladder and an extension ladder.  I like to use a painter's hook/chain to hang a one gallon can on any ladder.  That keeps one hand free to hold onto the ladder while reaching with a big brush.

    A coat of quality masonry paint will look good for eight years or more.  It's good DIY job for anyone who enjoys maintaining his/her home while saving a significant amount of money.

     



    Edited 8/2/2008 10:57 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter

    1. butte | Aug 03, 2008 02:14pm | #2

      Thank you.

      This is a really big house, 5600 ft on 2 floors, high roof pitches, shed roofs, ole wood hidden gutters, a little bit of everything.

      We will be renting a lift to do the roof and upper levels. I was hoping if we pressure washed the shingles, we wouldn't have to do too much scraping. And, we will take everyone's advice and use 2 coats of oil-based primer on them and then the Duration paint. Because of our age, I would like to not have to tackle that upper section again.

      And, I want paint that fades the least.

      1. Hudson Valley Carpenter | Aug 03, 2008 03:29pm | #3

        If you're talking about pressure washing old cedar shingles, that may not work very well.   I'd ask locally about that, if I were you, in particular about other houses of that age. 

        You might be better off renting or buying some modern pump jack scaffolding.  Although a lift is very easy and convenient to use, it's an expensive rental so any delays due to unexpected problems (of which there are likely to be more than a few) can become costly.  

        Once you set up pump jacks, you can focus on that side of the house until it's completed, moving up and down slowly but without a lot of effort.  That will allow you to apply what you learn in a more logical and systematic way, one side at at time.

        I haven't read what others have advised you about painting old cedar shingle siding but there's some fine latex primers and paints made for that purpose which should not be dismissed without some research. 

        1. butte | Aug 03, 2008 04:30pm | #4

          Thanks. Do you ever use oil-based primer? BTW, I already bought it.

          I think the first couple of layers of paint are on the shingles to stay. It is the more recent paint jobs that are peeling. And, I have to decide whether or not to removed the alligator paint on the window trim or add another coat of paint. It isn't peeling.

          Asking locally not an option. So, I will have to do other research. We did prep and paint a 100 year old bldg with old wood siding following suggestions from others here and it worked really well and looks great.

          We were going to do the same with this house. I was going to find my digital camera today and take some pictures around town to post when a contractor came on and warned against doing it yourself.

          We use contractors, even if my husband can do the work himself, when we have a good one because we have more money than time. But..... when we don't have someone good, he does the work himself. And, it appears he will do the roof, so we can use the lift for the roof and replace rotted facia boards, scrape and paint all at the same time. So, we will probably have the lift for 4 or 5 weeks. We have some scaffolding, but I think the lift will be faster. We had an old dog who just passed away and she took up all of our working time this summer. So, now time is a factor.

          But, that expense is nothing compared to the bad work in this town. An out of state woman bought the house next door to us and made the mistake of paying someone $ 10,000 up front to do a roof, not a big house either. After 4 months, it is maybe 20% complete. The roof on the other side of us got botched last year, but the old man, 80, said it would last as long as him, so he didn't care how it looked.

          1. Hudson Valley Carpenter | Aug 03, 2008 05:21pm | #5

            Your original question about painting stucco was one I could answer with confidence.  I haven't painted any cedar siding lately so I'll stay out of that discussion. 

            I still think there should be some local knowledge, about preparing and painting old cedar, available through the paint store or a county historical society or some such organization.   

            Good luck with all that.

             

             

             

             

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