Is It Better to Spray or Roll Paint Onto Stucco?

Putting new stucco on your home is a big investment. Considering how much money you’re spending on your stucco, you’re going to want to make sure you do everything possible to ensure that it looks great when it’s complete. The kind of preparation you do on your home and the types of application techniques you use for painting are always important for any kind of exterior surface, but especially for stucco.

Here’s a quick overview from a stucco contractor in Bluffton, SC of what you need to know about painting stucco:

• You need to clean the surface: No matter how good the paint is, you’re going to have some big problems with it adhering to the surface if you don’t clean it first. This means power washing the surface and removing any chipping or peeling paint before you get started with painting. The section closest to the ground will likely need to be scrubbed with a coarse nylon brush and powdered laundry detergent to remove the most stubborn dirt. You’ll want to pay special attention to removing efflorescence, a white powdery substance that commonly forms on stucco and masonry finishes. A wire brush will be needed for that.
• Crack repair: This is going to be the most challenging aspect of prepping for stucco painting. You’ll need to repair cracks. You don’t necessarily need to patch up every single crack—good quality paint will fill up hairline cracks. But any crack that you can sink a fingernail into should be patched up. Wider cracks will need a high-quality acrylic latex caulk before you can paint over them.
• Application method: When actually applying paint, you should use a roller or an airless sprayer. You should never use a brush. As to whether a roller or sprayer is the better choice for your painting, it really depends on the project. Rollers are fine for small jobs, but for larger projects, you’ll quickly get overwhelmed if you try to use a roller. Airless sprayers make the job much more efficient. You can still use a roller to help work some of the paint into the surface when spraying if you wish to do so.
• Coats: One coat might be sufficient for painting stucco, depending on the kind of paint you’re using. However, in most cases stucco will require at least two coats for you to get a nice, even application of paint. Stucco is a highly absorbent material, and if you have cracks that you want to conceal and other repairs that you made to the stucco before painting, it’ll take a bit more paint to cover them up sufficiently.

These are just a few examples of some of the things you should know if you’re going to be painting stucco on your home. Since 2005, Spring Construction has specialized in a full range of stucco services, including installation and repair. For more information about the steps you should take to properly prepare for stucco painting, contact us to speak with a stucco contractor in Bluffton, SC today!

Categorised in: Stucco