How to Paint a New Stucco Exterior
Stucco is an interior and exterior building material that you can apply flat or in a textured pattern. When unpainted, stucco material has a white or off-white color that can quickly show staining on exterior surfaces. Painting a new exterior surface allows you to customize the look of the surface to match or contrast the trim, doors and windows; and it puts a protective covering between the stucco and nature's elements. Using a primer and masonry paint ensures the job will be long-lasting.
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Things You'll Need
- Painter's tape
- Masonry primer
- Paint stirrer
- Paintbrush
- Paint tray
- Masonry paint
Instructions
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1
Let the stucco cure for two months before applying a coat of paint. The curing process allows stucco to become completely dry and hard.
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2
Put painter's tape around the windows and trim. Carefully place the tape lengthwise, with its edge on the trim lined up along the edges of the stucco surface you're going to paint. If you don't want it painted, cover it with painter's tape.
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3
Open a can of masonry primer and stir it with a paint stirrer. Use a paintbrush to paint the perimeter of the stucco -- this is called "cutting in." Wiggle the paintbrush back and forth as you apply the primer so it gets into the textured surface of the stucco.
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4
Pour the primer into a paint tray. Roll a paint roller in the primer until it is coated. Apply the primer to the stucco surface in long, even strokes that meet the primed perimeter, overlapping barely. Let the primer dry for the amount of time instructed on the can.
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Rinse the paint tray, paintbrush and roller. Stir the masonry paint and pour it into the paint tray. Use the paintbrush to cut in the exterior perimeter of the stucco, just as you did with the primer.
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Coat the roller in the paint in the paint tray. Paint a big "W" shape in one of the upper corners of the stucco surface. Fill in the 'W' shape, reloading the roller whenever it begins to dry. In this manner, you'll apply roughly the same amount of paint to the entire wall.
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Paint the next "W" shape below the first one, filling in the wall from top to bottom, one section at a time. Move to the next section when the first is completely covered in paint. Repeat until the stucco is painted.
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Let the stucco dry according to the paint package directions, then apply another coat in the same way you applied the first. Remove the painter's tape and let the stucco dry completely.
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References
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