Stucco repair options

September 20, 2007 8:38 AM

What are my options for altering my exterior stucco?

My house currently has stucco covered with paint that has little particles in it. I like neither the texture nor the color. I have had one contractor tell me he can repair as needed and then apply a layer of some kind of "polybond" over the entire surface without sandblasting, and then put a new colored stucco topcoat over it. An other option is to pressure wash the paint layer off and then repair and repaint, but I think I prefer to have a colored stucco to a painted stucco. Will an exterior stucco stick to another exterior stucco layer?

Does anyone have any experience with this?

posted by mzurer to home & garden (5 comments total)

I'm skeptical of the stucco bonding to a painted surface. If you go this route, get a solid guarantee. It really comes down to balancing your like of colored stuff with the higher cost.
posted by electroboy at 8:55 AM on September 20, 2007

I will add only little value here, but I have read that painting stucco is to be avoided, and top/skim coating is preferred. That said, I've tried to find a reference for this online and come up blank (and indeed, I've found references to paint supposedly good for stucco).

As far as I know the stucco will stick to stucco. It's the paint that should be your main concern.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 9:19 AM on September 20, 2007

La Habra apparently sells something they call fog coat that is a non-paint coloring agent that will stick to the stucco, so I am currently thinking sandblast/repair/fog coat. No one has suggested an outer coat directly on the paint, but that thehre may be some kind of adhesive layer to put over the paint and under the new final stucco layer.
posted by mzurer at 10:02 AM on September 20, 2007

Poly-Bond is apparently a LaHabra brand (there are other things called polybond too), that seems intended for something else. I would confirm what your contractor means.

Anyway, those guys have a ton of products and a 50-year reputation, so maybe calling the company to ask what their options/suggestions are in your case would be fruitful.
posted by dhartung at 10:13 AM on September 20, 2007

If I were doing this, I'd probably remove the paint (pressure wash, as you mentioned- or possibly sandblast), then apply a new skim coat of stucco. If there was a question as to whether the new stucco would adhere, one could apply new metal lath over the old finish, then put the new stucco onto that. You also might get good results from synthetic stucco (Dry-Vit or the like), but some people really hate it.
posted by Shohn at 11:11 AM on September 20, 2007