Can someone talk to me about stucco repair?

[CivilWarHome]

I've tossed around the idea of taking the stucco off the brick since we bought our house, but I'm going to go with trying to repair the stucco instead. The worry of what we will run into after removal, and the cost of those possible repairs, does not seem worth the investment.

One of the biggest problems I have with the stucco is the cracks that are very evident under the paint. They have been filled with something (I'm assuming caulk but I have no way of verifying that) and I'm wondering if there is a way we can fix this? If the surface all matched I think I would be happier with it. I keep thinking it would be similar to repairing plaster cracks?

Then I have concerns about the paint that is currently on the house. I know the stucco on the main house is gray. I have no idea what color the stucco on the addition is. Is it okay to repaint it? I could have swore that the dyed stucco was not suppose to be painted. Correct me if I'm wrong. If it is okay to repaint, what type of paint should we use?

[ivanho]

I can only speak of my experience and the research I did. Our prior house was built in 1905. They put stucco over the cedar siding at some point. The stucco had been painted, had cracks large and small, and had lot's of peeling paint.

From everything I researched, stucco goes from a low maintenance exterior to a high maintenance exterior if painted. Again, I'm not an expert, but from what I read, stucco breathes, and once it's painted, you end up with moisture trapped behind the paint, which results in mold or mildew in between the paint and stucco. This leads to premature failure of the paint.

I think a masonry paint, or elastomeric paint is the ideal paint, as it's more breathable and it will cover the smaller hairline cracks.

For a stucco house that's been painted, I believe the ideal solution is sandblasting and re-apply a topcoat of stucco (can be tinted). Very expensive and not likely a do-it-yourself.

For our old house, I chose to re-paint it. I bought high quality caulk and a stucco topcoat. For some of the large cracks I cleaned and filled with the topcoat and matched the texture. The smaller cracks were caulked. I removed the old paint with a drill and wire brush attachment. I went through a few of those. There was all kinds of green moldy mildew stuff under the paint. Particularly in areas where the paint was peeling off.

I have no idea how long the paint will last.

If I were in a stucco house that I was restoring, and the stucco had historical value, I would sandblast and add a stucco topcoat, and not paint. There are also products out there that apply with a pump sprayer. I think it's called a "fog coat", and it's a masonry-based product, so it's more like a stucco topcoat. The application of the fog coat is probably do-it-yourself friendly.

Stucco is easy to remove, but very heavy.

Also, stucco moves. So those cracks could be there due to seasonal movement. If you do not use caulk, the cracks may reappear, which re-introduces moisture, and will result in mold and mildew under the paint.

[Vaso7]

Not an expert by far but here is what I notice.
There are a lot of stucco houses around here and I notice that most people opt for just painting them. I assume that is the cheapest option. They somehow fill in the cracks but let me tell you I can spot all the repair work from far. It does look a lot better than before but all crack repair is visible.
The inside of my house has stucco walls. The living room, stair case walls, upstairs hall and third floor are all made with stucco. Unfortunately it was all painted when we bought the house but except for some cracks it looks great. There is no peeling. I hired a stucco "artist" ( ) to fix the cracks and he did some nice work with silica beads of various sizes that he used to match the texture but let me tell you, I can still see where all the cracks used to be. Sure, much much better but according to people that I consulted with you can never match stucco the way you match smooth plaster.
As suggested above, the best option I got was to resurface anew the whole area. I decided against it because I really like the look of the old stucco and it is in great shape (apart for the few cracks).
Sorry I did not offer much help...
Good luck!

[stuart45]

According to the plasterer at work the best way to do a crack is to cut out at least 6 inches each side of it.
Rather than cut out a V shape, it's best to invert it so it goes in like a dovetail joint to hold the stucco in better.
The base coat of stucco needs to be stronger than the top coat. A normal mix used for the base is 4/1/1 and 5/1/1 for the top.
Sand/lime/OPC, unless you are using lime mortar.
Plastering sand rather than building sand should be used.

[Texas_Ranger]

I'd strongly recommend mineral paint for stucco. It bonds well and lets the walls breathe.