BajaNomad - Stucco sealers?

Stucco sealers?

submarine_dbk - 6-30-2009 at 05:13 PM

Looking for information/experiences (beyond the marketing hype found on manufacturers websites) with stucco sealers - in particular elastomeric sealers. Primary desire is to seal exterior from excessive water load due to wind driven rain.

Pros/Cons? Worthwhile?

mtgoat666 - 6-30-2009 at 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by submarine_dbk
Looking for information/experiences (beyond the marketing hype found on manufacturers websites) with stucco sealers - in particular elastomeric sealers. Primary desire is to seal exterior from excessive water load due to wind driven rain.

Pros/Cons? Worthwhile?

stucco is meant to be permeable. in climates where rain is infrequent, best to leave stucco unsealed.
try putting on a new top coat of stucco. top coat (color layer) is usually finer grained than base layers, so less permeable.

Russ - 6-30-2009 at 05:41 PM

I think it's worth it. My last house was block with rock facing. During the heaviest rains the block would saturate and fill the empty block cells and I'd have water running down the walls on the storm side. The worst part of that is the cells hold water a long time and there is really no way to dry them out until Winter. By that time things smell like a closed up beach house. On my casita I'm in now I painted it with a simi solid stain. I got the color I wanted and it doesn't peel or crack like some paints do. I just built a garage and had the contractor finish the walls with the brown coat. We've (some of us) had really bad luck with stucco here. The stain seems to help but it's not a cure.

[Edited on 7-1-2009 by Russ]

DryLok

bajaguy - 6-30-2009 at 05:44 PM

look at this product

http://www.ugl.com/drylokMasonry/masonryWaterproofer/latex.p...

redmesa - 6-30-2009 at 05:45 PM

A topic of big interest to us. I have been doing some homework on this topic. So far, I have priced and talked to Behr and Cloverdale. All are stated and warrantied to be: Waterproof, Breathable, flexible , mildew resistant, and bridge hairline cracks. They are also here in Canada very expensive. It takes 2 coat that cover 150 sq. ft. per coat. Behr is 165.00 CAD and Cloverdale is 204.40 CAD fpr 5 gallons. Behr has fewer color options. Please let me know what you find out.

Mixed research

submarine_dbk - 6-30-2009 at 06:05 PM

In theory, I love the idea of the clear elastomeric coatings, but I've done a lot of manufacturer and DIY web site reading and am now more confused than informed. Some sites claim elastomerics are breathable and will allow trapped moisture to be released while others claim just the opposite. Some articles contradict themselves.

My primary concern is that moisture that may make it's way in thru larger cracks will be trapped and cause mold problems over time or if around windows, may eventually cause window frame rot.

If I find more definitive information I'll post.

bajaguy - 6-30-2009 at 06:09 PM

I have a painter friend who won't use elastomeric paints....says they don't breathe

oldlady - 6-30-2009 at 07:24 PM

Dunn Edwards' Eff-stop.

oladulce - 7-1-2009 at 01:50 AM

I used this water based, product on color-coated stucco and liked it. Water would bead up on the surface when the walls got wet and it slowed down the rate of saturation when it rained heavily. Spray it on with a garden sprayer. Goes on easily and it's concentrated and goes a long way.
It held up well in desert sun and lasted about 5-6 years before it looked like the walls needed a re-coat.

It's by Glaze N Seal

Natural Look Penetrating Sealer

But we got tired of babysitting stucco color-coat with the cracks and chipping. Nowadays we paint the stucco walls and hardly know what to do with all the leisure time

I agree with oldlady, Dunn Edwards Eff-stop primer followed by DE paint is what we use too. It's worth importing and hauling it down because of the increase in lifespan it gives to walls.

capt. mike - 7-1-2009 at 06:15 AM

if you have a proper moisture barrier behind the foam/wire/lath etc - like 15 # felt - and a weep screed at the plate then you can seal stucco.

woody with a view - 7-1-2009 at 06:20 AM

we use elastomeric paint on most of our jobsites. it costs more for sure, but it is better than just a thin coat of paint. if you are near the ocean i wouldn't use anything else.

and don't let your painter dilute your paint with water so it goes farther....

edit: never heard of what Dulce is refering to but it sounds interesting....

[Edited on 7-1-2009 by woody in ob]

El Jefe - 7-1-2009 at 11:57 AM

When our house was new the painter used elastomeric paint, but we think he cut it or did not apply enough coats. After the first tropical rain storm, lots and lots of weepy blisters appeared on the walls. Water got trapped behind the paint. Once the blisters dried out they looked like saggy skin. I had to scrape and re-paint the house. Wish we used regular paint in the first place. Elastomeric may have worked if it had been properly applied, but we will never know.

redmesa - 7-1-2009 at 02:42 PM

As always there seems to be varying opinions on this product. Wish we Knew for sure since it will be very expensive to use.

woody with a view - 7-1-2009 at 04:03 PM

it's all in the prep and application. make sure your stucco is cured properly. apply your paint per mfgr req's with a sprayer followed by a heavy roller to even it out. in baja i guess the sprayer is not always an option so the heavy roller(s) should suffice.

Crusoe - 7-1-2009 at 05:08 PM

You may try a product MAREXITE. It is an all purpose sealer for use on bare steel as well as wood and concrete. It is very pricey but really does a top-notch job. As the story goes.... It was developed for sealing the new bare steel on the Golden Gate Bridge applied before any red lead primer or finish paint. It is still manafacured in San Fran. Good luck. ++C++

SKIDS - 7-1-2009 at 07:18 PM

WE PUT THOMPSONS WATERSEAL AROUND OUR HOUSE UP 4' 4 YEARS AGO. NO STAINS .LOOKS GREAT. WE USED SYNTEX PLASTER WITH A SANTA BARBRA FINISH.

rocmoc - 7-2-2009 at 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

AGREE! But if you have to, leave the last 6" or more at the bottom of the wall unsealed so any trapped moisture can weep out. If you don't, you take a big chance of getting MOLD inside the wall. This is a problem found even with putting simple exterior house paint on a wall. Trapped water will start to degrade the painted surface, stucco & possible mold. Do a search on Google and you will find plenty of info regarding these potential problems. This was not a problem in the old days of oil based paints, but with the new latex paints it is a problem. Good luck!

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico/Idaho

[Edited on 7-3-2009 by rocmoc]

Bob and Susan - 7-3-2009 at 05:04 AM

remember here in mulege it ONLY rains about 5 days a year...

why waste your time on hard to apply plastic paint...
i would paint with a "regular" good latex paint...nothing else

dont fight "the wave" :cool:

the sun is going to do more damage than water

if it looks like you are having moisture problems its probably just faulty stucco

sometimes builders use "un-clean" sand :light:

or they mix the cement wrong
it doesnt last

maybe they patched the windows after the inital stucco coat
this patch stuff might not be as good

the wood around windows needs to be treated for damage
bugs will probably be your biggest problem (IMHO) :tumble:

rocmoc - 7-3-2009 at 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
remember here in mulege it ONLY rains about 5 days a year...

why waste your time on hard to apply plastic paint...
i would paint with a "regular" good latex paint...nothing else

dont fight "the wave" :cool:

the sun is going to do more damage than water

if it looks like you are having moisture problems its probably just faulty stucco

sometimes builders use "un-clean" sand :light:

Agree but leave the bottom 6" unpainted. If you have to repair or re-stucco, use a shovel full of Lime (not the fruit for your drink as you are working) with each bag of stucco. The lime makes the stucco more sticky and harder. One of the things the manufactures have done to save/make money is cut back on the amount of lime in the mix of each bag of stucco. Also use the one coat fiberglass reinforced stucco ease.

rocmoc n AZ/Mexico/Idaho

Bajabuff - 7-6-2009 at 06:59 PM

Hi, cementous based sealers work well.
http://www.thoroproducts.com/pdf_info/INF_TSEAL_3.06.pdf
Use a minimum of two coats, 3 better. It comes in white and gray. I use alternate coats 1st white, then gray, then white again, if used. Using alternate colors helps to spot voids and misses. It is easy to apply with a broad fiber brush, sometimes refered to as a "dutch" brush. Caveat: It won't stick to a previously painted surface unless the paint had a cementous base. Dick

Ready to Seal Stucco and the Roof

submarine_dbk - 7-18-2009 at 05:59 AM

Well, we finally made a decision on stucco sealer and will be doing some work on our flat concrete roof as well. We have decided on products from an Oregon company called Ames Research (www.amesresearch.com).

After alot of discussion with their techs re: our particular needs, for the exterior stucco walls, we'll use two coats of the clear Super Primer product so that we can get a good, deep seal and retain the color of our existing stucco. We'll probably end up with a more satin-y sheen, but we can live with that.

For the roof, we are going to prime and seam tape all cracks, roof penetrations, junctures of the parapet walls and flat roof surfaces and anything else that looks like a seam. This will be followed 2 coats of the Blue Max product and 2 additional topcoats of their Maximum Stretch product on all parapet wall and flat roof surface. This, in theory, should provide a continuous and impervious, rubberized roof cover.

This will be a grand experiment and we'll try to get pictures taken along the way to share with those who may be interested in the process. We'll have to wait for the first chubasco or hurricane to see just how effective we've been in keeping the stucco dry and the interior of the house from becoming a swimming pool again.

Bob and Susan - 7-18-2009 at 06:06 AM

i'm interested...

we sealed parts of out stucco with that type of clear sealer
but it yellowed in the sun
and some peeled off like it does
sometimes on a clearcoat on a car

it didnt work

paint also "covers a mutitude of sins" :lol:

we painted

that simular to the stuff we used on the roof
2 days rain no leaks

Cypress - 7-18-2009 at 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SKIDS
WE PUT THOMPSONS WATERSEAL AROUND OUR HOUSE UP 4' 4 YEARS AGO. NO STAINS .LOOKS GREAT. WE USED SYNTEX PLASTER WITH A SANTA BARBRA FINISH.

Thompson's water sealer works. :bounce: