4 Tips to Painting Exterior Stucco - And a Few More fun Facts

If like many Calgary homeowners, the exterior of your home is finished with stucco coating, you’re in luck. Not only is stucco a long-lasting, durable material, it also effectively protects your home against the elements. However, like other types of house siding, the colour of your stucco can fade over time. When this happens, you may wonder if you can paint the stucco on your home. With proper preparation, the right paint, and correct painting materials, exterior stucco painting can offer many benefits.

Wait! Before we delve too deeply into the intricate developmental phases of your home’s exterior surface, I’m aware not all of you are going to require a, shall we say, an intimate introduction to stucco. But I think a couple of ideas of where it came from, what it’s made of, and a few other fun facts, will have you dazzling neighbours with your vast and varied knowledge of your home’s exterior stucco. More importantly, with our 4 Key Tips to Painting Your Exterior Stucco, you’ll have a much better understanding of how to prepare your home’s exterior stucco for a fresh coat of paint!
And, I think it’s pretty cool. So here we go.

Stucco: A Brief History

Stucco is a type of hand-troweled masonry plaster consisting of cement, water, and sand is a definitive feature of Spanish and Mediterranean architecture. The earliest stucco contained lime instead of cement, and because its ingredients are easily found in nature, it’s one of the oldest natural types of siding around, dating back to ancient Greece. Mass production of dry cement in the early 1900s increased the workability of stucco, which meant longer drying times that allowed for greater workability in climates where stucco finishes began to surface in Mexico and the American southwest. We now see stucco as one of the most popular exterior finishes for homes everywhere.

4 Tips for Painting Your Exterior Stucco

As Always, the success of any painting project depends on the quality of the Preparation.

1. Power Washing is the Key to Successfully Preparing Your Stucco for Paint

Power washing is the single best way to remove any loose pieces of stucco on the surface and expose areas of the stucco that will need to be repaired prior to painting. While Fitz Painting will handle small repairs on your stucco, issues such as large exposed sections, or cracks /4-inch or wider spell trouble that may affect the structural integrity of the home, we suggest a reputable local Calgary company handles this service for you.

2. Use a Textured Masonry Caulk for Cracks

We recommend a weather-resistant formula that provides excellent adhesion and flexibility with high elasticity that will expand and contract with the changes in Calgary temperatures, but not break apart and expose the crack in the stucco. This masonry commercial level caulking is made from sanded acrylic formula designed for both vertical and horizontal stucco repairs, and blends with the texture of the surrounding stucco areas on your home so when the area is painted, no visible crack will be seen.

3. Use Paint with a Flat Sheen

This is very important! Using paint with a flat sheen creates a non-reflective appearance and helps hide surface imperfections where high gloss paints highlight irregularities, not generally the desired outcome when it comes to the appearance of your home’s exterior stucco.  
High gloss paints are great for high traffic areas that need to withstand cleaning products and normal wear and tear, and as tempting as it might sound to coat your exterior stucco home in gloss paint and never worry about cleaning again, high gloss paints do not have the same efficacy on stucco, so we strongly recommend not using gloss paints on stucco exteriors.

Dulux Diamond Exterior painted on StuccoFlat Sheen.

Now, what about satin or ‘eggshell’ finishes? A satin finish may seem attractive for your home’s exterior stucco, but it is important to be aware of the concept of shadowing. Shadowing occurs on stucco when a glossy or stain-like finish is applied to a porous surface like stucco and the reflection of light creates the illusion of dark inconsistencies on the paint surface. You can best avoid this type of surface inconsistency by using a paint a flat finish. The advantage being, paint with a flat finish has significantly less sheen, and therefore, reduces the reflection of light on the paint and diminishes the effect of shadowing on the stucco surface.

4. The Right Paint Matters

There are many ideas about the ‘right’ paint to use on exterior stucco. But, I must say, after painting many, many, stucco homes in the Calgary area, my experience has brought me to this conclusion - the best product to protect the exterior of your home from the, shall we say, abrupt changes in Calgary weather, is a fully Elastomeric or a Semi-Elastomeric acrylic-based paint.

What does that even mean?

Well, elastomeric is derived term is derived from elastic or having similar characteristics to that of rubber: flexible, tough. When you apply a paint coating, specifically latex, it dries to the touch. A protective coating continues to dry, becoming harder, and more brittle over time and weather exposure. As this happens, all paints fade from prolonged exposure to the sun - some paints and colours fading much more than others, but, inevitably, all paint will to some degree over time.

As paint fades, it becomes brittler. If your paint stays supple and elastic, the risk of cracking and peeling diminishes significantly. Elastomeric paint was developed to keep its elasticity much longer than other acrylic latex exterior paints, while also seal cracks that may be present and helping weatherproof your expensive stucco siding.

All that said, the best advice I can give is don't scrimp on the product type. Use an elastomeric acrylic latex-based product that was developed and made exactly to lengthen the life of your stucco siding.

It’s a choice you won’t regret!

As always, if you have any questions about painting your stucco, or need a professional companies help, please don’t hesitate to reach out!