Nine Things To Know About Painting Your Stucco House

Stucco homes are a common sight in many neighborhoods, but that doesn’t mean that they’re popular.

In fact, many people - maybe even you - view stucco as an eyesore that you’d love to get rid of.

Well, it may surprise you to learn that you can refresh your stucco with a new paint job - as long as the painters know what they’re doing!

Here at Painters Enterprise, we believe that our paint jobs shouldn’t just change the color of your house - they should change how you feel about your home as well. And we’re willing to work with you to discover the perfect look and feel for your space.

Painted stucco - can change the way you feel about your home.

learn nine important facts about painting over stucco!

1. All types of stucco can be painted

There are three main types of stucco and all three can be painted to your exact specifications.

Whether you have EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish System) stucco, one coat stucco, or three coat stucco, we’ll be able to ensure that your home is professionally painted.

2. There are specific types of paint that get the job done

Stucco walls often sport hairline cracks and other issues that can make getting a clean, smooth paint job difficult. At Painters Enterprise, we use the best materials for painting over stucco cracks. These include paints (like Elastomeric paint) that bond well with stucco and fill in those cracks that would otherwise mar the paint job. Some of these paints may be more expensive than different brands, but the quality you get is more than worth it.

Additionally, one hundred percent acrylic paint also has great, no-fail results if you want to go the less expensive route.

3. Protection of property is important when painting stucco

All furniture, windows, doors, and other areas of the house should be covered and masked by paper and plastic before any painting is done. When you hire Painters Enterprise, we take care of that for you and, additionally, we will strive to protect plants and other greenery when we are painting stucco outside. No one wants their lawn or house messed with when renovation/painting work is being done, so we work hard to prevent that.

Masking off all areas not receiving paint is essential.

4. Painting a stucco wall isn’t easy

At Painters Enterprise, we want to give you the best possible service - no matter how easy or hard the job. Painting stucco isn’t as simple as painting other types of surfaces because stucco is designed to absorb any kind of moisture...and that makes getting a smooth, even, non-splotchy coat of paint difficult.

But that doesn’t make painting stucco impossible! It simply means that it might take us a little longer because we want to make sure you get a great finished product. Additionally, this means that you probably won’t want to attempt a stucco paint job yourself (unless you’re a painting industry professional in your own right) because getting it perfect is harder than you might think.

5. We may need to caulk your stucco walls

Painting stucco cracks, particularly the finer ones, can be done with good paint (see #2)...but sometimes there’s a deeper issue at work. This can be especially true of older stucco, where the structure has been subjected to a lot of wear and tear - and not a lot of maintenance. And that’s where caulking your stucco walls comes in.

We’ll use the best possible caulking. This can include caulking materials with added sand so that the filled-in cracks look more like the original stucco, giving a smoother, more uniform appearance.

6. Painting stucco is a many-step process

Stucco has many unique qualities, some of which we’ve discussed above. At Painters

Enterprise, we aren’t satisfied with applying one coat of paint and calling it good. To achieve optimal results, we paint stucco with a roller and paint in layers to make sure that every part of stucco’s porous surface is covered with plenty of paint.

We aren’t satisfied with a tacky, spotty paint job. We are proud of our work and we want you to be as well.

7. A lot of paint is used when covering up stucco

Getting your stucco painted is almost always more expensive than other types of paint jobs for two reasons: the amount of time needed to ensure that the job looks good, and the amount of paint needed (for the same reason). Stucco is a unique surface that requires a lot of paint to make it look its best.

Since there are so many tiny cracks and valleys in stucco, you need extra paint to fill all of those. Then you’ll need to allow time for the paint to absorb into the stucco and then apply even more paint to create a clean, even surface over the entire wall (or walls). Yes, it isn’t quick or cheap to have your stucco painted over - but it is worth it.

8. Stucco needs to be cleaned before the paint can be applied

Before we apply even one coat of paint to your stucco, we’ll take care to wash the surface thoroughly. This is important because, while painting stucco is hard enough, trying to get the paint to stay on dirty stucco is ten times harder. Even the slightest amount of dirt, mold, or mildew on stucco can make the entire paint job look bad.

After power washing the wall, we’ll wait for it to fully dry before applying any paint. We want to ensure that nothing interferes with getting a great look for your stucco walls.

9. Painted stucco walls will need to be maintained

Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to be worried about keeping your walls looking perfect at all times. A bit of fading, some wear and tear are natural and to be expected. However, a great stucco paint job can last for up to fifteen years.