# What PSI pressure washer can strip paint off stucco?



## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

I need to strip paint off large amount of stucco, about 1,200 square feet. At this size, chemically stripping is not time- or cost-effective, and the sandblasting bids I have received are more than twice the price I would pay to BUY a monster 4,200 PSI pressure washer that I suspect would be up to the task, especially with a turbo nozzle. Given that, I am very interested in buying or renting such a unit and doing the job myself.

Does anybody know what PSI level is needed to strip a single layer of latex paint off of stucco? I'l like to avoid something unnecessarily large or that would actually blast off the stucco too! I suspect an electric 2,000 PSI washer will be too puny, but do I need 3,500 PSI? 4,000? _5,000?_


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## Anti-wingnut (Oct 18, 2009)

I'm afraid that you're going to damage the stucco. What are you going to replace the paint with?


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

Anti-wingnut said:


> I'm afraid that you're going to damage the stucco. What are you going to replace the paint with?


If I damage the stucco, then another coat of stucco. If not, then two coats of Keim mineral paint. That's the plan, at least.

If pressure washing doesn't make sense, does anyone know of a sane method to strip paint off of stucco?


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## Anti-wingnut (Oct 18, 2009)

iLikeDirt said:


> If I damage the stucco, then another coat of stucco.


It doesn't work like that. Damaged stucco has to go off to the lathe, and then be replaced


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

Anti-wingnut said:


> It doesn't work like that. Damaged stucco has to go off to the lathe, and then be replaced


Really? Not even with a bonding agent and just a color and texture coat?


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## Anti-wingnut (Oct 18, 2009)

Depends on the damage. But when I've seen stucco cleaned enough to strip paint, I've also seen cracks opened up


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

Well I'd certainly prefer to patch cracks than redo the entire stucco wall down to lath and new scratch and brown coats


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Why does it need to stripped?


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

ToolSeeker said:


> Why does it need to stripped?


Because I don't want the maintenance hassle and ongoing expense of repainting it every few years, nor the moisture-trapping qualities of the paint that's already on there. Because my home doesn't have a weep screed and the stucco goes all the way down into the soil, moisture occasionally wicks up after heavy rains and has caused the paint to peel along the bottom few inches (below the sill plate, thankfully). Since it's already peeling there and looking terrible, and it's clearly a systemic problem, I want to get rid of all of the paint for good to additionally restore the stucco's natural breathability. Painting stucco turns a maintenance-free cladding into a maintenance nightmare cladding and I don't know why anyone does it. :001_unsure:


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

iLikeDirt said:


> Because I don't want the maintenance hassle and ongoing expense of repainting it every few years, nor the moisture-trapping qualities of the paint that's already on there. Because my home doesn't have a weep screed and the stucco goes all the way down into the soil, moisture occasionally wicks up after heavy rains and has caused the paint to peel along the bottom few inches (below the sill plate, thankfully). Since it's already peeling there and looking terrible, and it's clearly a systemic problem, I want to get rid of all of the paint for good to additionally restore the stucco's natural breathability. Painting stucco turns a maintenance-free cladding into a maintenance nightmare cladding and I don't know why anyone does it. :001_unsure:


 
Stripping the paint sounds like a drastic measure, why not install a weep screed and be done with it, heres a link that may help.


http://www.iccsafe.org/iccforums/Pages/default.aspx?action=ViewPosts&fid=11&tid=14415&page=1


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Can't you just have someone put a color coat of stucco over it. Like a skim coat of colored stucco.


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

ToolSeeker said:


> Can't you just have someone put a color coat of stucco over it. Like a skim coat of colored stucco.


Over the paint? I worry about how long that's gonna adhere for.


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## cdaniels (Dec 27, 2012)

I don't know of anyway possible to strip it without damaging the stucco. Stucco is a very porous substrate the paint is deep in it I'm sure.


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

Red Dog said:


> I don't know of anyway possible to strip it without damaging the stucco. Stucco is a very porous substrate the paint is deep in it I'm sure.



That's what I was thinking. The paint is peeling in places, but in other places its probably stuck like chuck. 

Trying to blast it off with a turbo nozzle doesn't sound like a great idea. Pressure washing alone almost never works for stripping paint.


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

Well, if it's all but impossible, then I'll bow to reality. Darn.


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

We use peel away to strip paint off of exterior surfaces. I would not use high pressure or a rotary nozzle on the pressure washer you will destroy the stucco. Chemical stripping should work with the right chemicals, time and patience.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

It's a moot point, but for future reference... the PSI rating of the machine you're using is not really the issue you want to know to answer your question. The pressure rating of the machine is not normally the same as the pressure that is actually applied. The 2 main reasons are the distance away from the surface the nozzle is, and the nozzle size and shape.

The effect of a 4,000 psi machine and a 1,500 psi machine can be exactly the same.

The point in your case is that anything close enough and powerful enough to take off paint will also take off stucco.

By the way, if you do go the route of applying chemicals rather than pressure, you still might want a pressure washer. You can hold them farther away from the surface or use a detergent nozzle, but what pressure washers do, in addition to pressure, is volume. You can get 4 gallons per minute sprayed out - try doing that with your pump sprayer!


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

FYI, I purchased a 1,500 PSI pressure washer for general washing and to blast off the spray-applied coating that was applied over the painted stucco. Not only does it do that well, but I was pleased to discover that it is also able to strip the paint off if I'm careful not to dwell on one spot for too long. It'll be time-consuming, but isn't really very hard to do it or avoid damaging the stucco in the process.


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

iLikeDirt said:


> FYI, I purchased a 1,500 PSI pressure washer for general washing and to blast off the spray-applied coating that was applied over the painted stucco. Not only does it do that well, but I was pleased to discover that it is also able to strip the paint off if I'm careful not to dwell on one spot for too long. It'll be time-consuming, but isn't really very hard to do it or avoid damaging the stucco in the process.



Do you mean that you stripped paint that had failed to bond to an already painted stucco wall?


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

Jmayspaint said:


> Do you mean that you stripped paint that had failed to bond to an already painted stucco wall?


Well, the reason I bought it was to blast off the spray coating that failed to adhere to the painted surface, which it is succeeding at doing. However, the machine is also succeeding at stripping off the (well-bonded) paint itself that is beneath the spray coating.

Not that it really matters because I've found a mineral paint that can be painted over existing latex or acrylic paint. But I guess exposing more of the masonry surface can't hurt.


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## Dunedainmom (Apr 29, 2021)

iLikeDirt said:


> Well, the reason I bought it was to blast off the spray coating that failed to adhere to the painted surface, which it is succeeding at doing. However, the machine is also succeeding at stripping off the (well-bonded) paint itself that is beneath the spray coating.
> 
> Not that it really matters because I've found a mineral paint that can be painted over existing latex or acrylic paint. But I guess exposing more of the masonry surface can't hurt.


What is this mineral paint? And how sis you get the paint off with the pressure washer?
I too, have a stucco home with peeling paint and no weepscreed, and was hoping to limewash it.
Any tips at all would be extremely appreciated!


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