Stucco paint is useful for anyone looking to provide a unique look to exterior parts of their home or to those looking to provide an aesthetic upgrade to visually unappealing parts of the house, such as exposed construction material like concrete walls. If you live in a warm weather area like Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, California and parts of Texas, then you already know that stucco is predominately used on the exterior of many homes and is a very popular look.
Over time, the composition of stucco paint has changed, but modern stucco paint is most commonly a compound consisting of sand, water, acrylics and of course, cement. Since cement is a very heavy material, when preparing to use stucco paint, you should make sure that the wall or walls that you are going to be painting on are structurally sound. Depending on the material you are applying the stucco paint to, there are different steps that may need to be taken.
If you are painting on concrete, brick, cinderblock or a similar material, then the first step is to first apply a concrete binding adhesive. Concrete binding adhesives are used to permanently bond stucco paint to the wall to which it will be applied. This is a necessary step when painting on the aforementioned materials since they are so porous in nature. As a result, when buying stucco paint, you will also want to buy concrete binding adhesive, which can be purchased for around $10 from any paint or hardware store. You will also want to buy a plasterer’s rake, which will allow you to scratch the stucco finish, giving it that old world look. A plasterer’s rake can be purchased at a hardware store or paint store as well. One you apply the concrete binding adhesive and let it dry, then you can apply the stucco paint. Scratch the surface using a plasterer’s rake, then keep the paint damp for about 48 hours before applying a finish coat. Of course, different people have different techniques, and this is just one method.
When it comes to finding the right stucco paint for your home, the best places to look are any major paint or hardware store, such as Ace Hardware, Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, The Home Depot or even Wal-Mart. The Sherwin-Williams Duration Exterior Acrylic Latex is one of the better options for stucco pain on the market. A gallon of stucco paint usually goes for approximately $60, while a quart can be purchased for about $20. If you are simply painting a wall with stucco paint then you should only need a quart, however anything larger will call for at least a gallon.
An alternative to painting your house with stucco paint would be to hire a contractor to do it. While many people report success and call the process a breeze, a lot of people have issues painting with stucco and find the material to break down over a short period of time. Maintaining stucco is a difficult process, as layers will eventually break down and requires a certain amount of experience. Professional paint contractors tend to know the best techniques and usually have state of the art painting tools that will allow them to do a better job.