# Painting stucco



## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

jwdineline said:


> Wading through some painting estimates for the exterior of our home. One company wants to use Sherwin Williams, Satin, Sherlastic Elastomeric (one coat). The other recommends "exterior satin" from Jones-Blair (two coats). Is one preferable? Do I need to get more information in order to make a comparison?


Is Jones-Blair an elastomeric coating or regular paint? If you don't know what an elastomeric coating is, you're proposers didn't do their job in selling you. I'm not being a wise ass, but you should have had that explained to you at the initial meeting. Need more info. It sounds like you have two different systems being recommended for the same job. If your stucco has a lot of spider cracking, the elastomeric is best. If it's pristine and stable, a straight paint may suffice. I would call each and ask them to explain their reasoning why, you might learn who knows what they're talking about.


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## jwdineline (Apr 11, 2011)

*Update on painting stucco*

Painter A--says he intends to use a Kwal paint, because it is thicker than Sherwin Williams paint, and he likes it better. The particular exterior satin he will use for the stucco is a rubber based paint that he says will attend to the hairline cracks in the stucco, and adhere to the surface well, just like Painter B's Sherwin Williams "Sherlastic Elastomeric" paint. Which paint is better? Is he giving me the straight stuff on the comparison?


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

SW Sherlastic Elastomeric is a flexible, breathable, waterproofer that also adds color . It will bridge hairline cracks. If I was submitting a proposal for the exterior of a stucco home I would use the same product.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

A quick google of Kwal didn't come up with any negatives, and I'm not familiar with it. I'm curious as to why for painter A, Kwal would be a two coat app. Kwal website doesn't spec for number of coats. Sherlastic specs for one or two coats depending upon the surface and whether one coat meets the standards to establish a waterproof system. A seemingly better product? Kwal is a "green product". I'm not sold on "green". My gut would tell me that SW is the better product, and maybe that's why he's suggesting two coats. Do you buy two of an inferior or one of a superior? Good question. You're not exactly apples to apples there. Is the stucco in bad shape? Since those products are slow to work with, thick, and coverage rate, approx 125 sq per gal, is a lot lower than conventional paint, which means more product, the cost of the two coat proposal should be a good deal higher than the one coat proposal. What would the one coat guy charge you to do two of the SW? I'm not really giving you a straight answer, because I don't think there is one readily. But at least I can give you some points to think about and some insight.
Some Links
http://www.paintdocs.com/webmsds/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=STORECAT&lang=E&doctype=PDS&prodno=640515367
http://www.kwalpaint.com/datamsds/web57001.pdf


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## jwdineline (Apr 11, 2011)

*Update on painting stucco*

Actually, the Painter "A" guy with two coats is lower cost than the Painter "B" with Sherwin Williams. The stucco is not in bad shape. Just a few hairline fractures here and there. Painter A says it's just a preference, and that every painter has his favorites. He likes Kwal paints, and their viscosity. He says he likes it better than Sherwin Williams, which he says is like water in the bucket, compared to Kwal, which has some volume to it.


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

jwdineline said:


> Actually, the Painter "A" guy with two coats is lower cost than the Painter "B" with Sherwin Williams. The stucco is not in bad shape. Just a few hairline fractures here and there. Painter A says it's just a preference, and that every painter has his favorites. He likes Kwal paints, and their viscosity. He says he likes it better than Sherwin Williams, which he says is like water in the bucket, compared to Kwal, which has some volume to it.


Every contractors price will vary based on direct expenses, indirect expenses, overhead, profit, and the value of the service. I've used Sherwin Williams products for years, thousands of gallons of paint a year and I wouldn't say there products are like water, if that was the case I would not use there products. our blog has tips on hiring a painting contractor for your exterior painting needs.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

jwdineline said:


> Actually, the Painter "A" guy with two coats is lower cost than the Painter "B" with Sherwin Williams. The stucco is not in bad shape. Just a few hairline fractures here and there. Painter A says it's just a preference, and that every painter has his favorites. He likes Kwal paints, and their viscosity. He says he likes it better than Sherwin Williams, which he says is like water in the bucket, compared to Kwal, which has some volume to it.


That's a red flag! A guy is going to give you twice the labor, twice the materials, and he's going to charge you less? :no:
That's not a vote for Painter B, but a caution about Painter A. 
Caveat Emptor.


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## Ole34 (Jan 31, 2011)

hes probably gonna charge you for 2 coats and give you 1 .............nothin new there , happens all the time...........i bet that 2nd coat goes on when your not around:wink:


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## jwdineline (Apr 11, 2011)

*Painter recommendations for stucco*

I should add as part of this string, that both of these painters, A & B were recommended by ServiceMaster.com and both come highly recommended with 5 star ratings and customer referrals. Thoughts on the ServiceMaster.com service? They provide referrals in all areas of home improvement. Thanks.


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

jwdineline said:


> I should add as part of this string, that both of these painters, A & B were recommended by ServiceMaster.com and both come highly recommended with 5 star ratings and customer referrals. Thoughts on the ServiceMaster.com service? They provide referrals in all areas of home improvement. Thanks.


Service Magic is a pay per lead generator for contractors. They call us a few times a month, but we are not interested in there services. Any reputable contractor should provide references, photos, video, past surveys, or a combination. You should call a few references and ask questions.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

It sounds like you only got two estimates. I would suggest getting a third from a non service magic contractor. The paint stores should help, friends, family, neighbors. Try to avoid the phone book and classifieds. See how another price squares with the others. No sense rushing it and finding out you made a mistake.


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## shemp (Apr 14, 2011)

jsheridan said:


> That's a red flag! A guy is going to give you twice the labor, twice the materials, and he's going to charge you less? :no:
> That's not a vote for Painter B, but a caution about Painter A.
> Caveat Emptor.


 
Also remember , the elastomeric job is going to use 4-5 times more product than 1 coat of regular paint. The reason is simply the elastomeric gets about 65-70 sqaure feet per gallon as opposed to 250 -300 square feet per gallon with regular paint. The elastomeric dries to about 10-12 mils thick and provides an excellent moisture barrier and hides small cracks in the stucco.The elastomeric may be overkill for what you need. If you simply have small cracks that need to be tended to, you can use an elastomeric patch for those specific areas and regular paint right over them. This is also assuming you have pressure washed and sealed the house prior to any patching or painting first.


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## Ironlight (Apr 13, 2011)

If the stucco is not in bad shape, why are you painting it? Hairline cracks should not be a problem as far as the integrity and waterproofness of the surface. The real problem is larger cracks if you live in an area where ice can form in them and do more damage.

Just want to make sure you really need to paint as once you do, you are wedded to maintaining a painted surface instead of a stucco surface which is lower maintenance.


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## jwdineline (Apr 11, 2011)

*Why are you painting the stucco?*

It was painted when we bought the house. A dark color. About 3 years later, it was so drab and faded that we had to repaint. It looks much better now than the last time we painted, but there are wood trim issues, etc., that need to be addressed. I didn't know there was an alternative to painting the stucco. What are your suggestions for upkeep? Thanks.


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