Sun, humidity, salt air and summer storms punish South Florida homes. We prep, seal and paint exteriors to stand up to all of it: stucco, siding, trim and doors across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.
Most of the homes we paint in Hollywood and across Broward are stucco. It is tough, but it is also porous, alkaline and prone to hairline cracks, and paint only lasts as long as the wall under it. Here is what the paint makers themselves say about getting stucco ready, and how it lines up with the way we work.
Dirt, chalk and mildew have to come off first. Benjamin Moore calls pressure washing stucco “the best way to get it clean before you start painting,” and says the stucco must be completely dry before painting starts. Behr's new-stucco prep is to pressure wash off dirt and chalk, then allow 24 hours to dry. We wash at low pressure, because a tight tip held close strips the finish coat, and we give the wall a full day before a brush touches it.
Fresh stucco sits at a pH of 13 to 14, and Sherwin-Williams says it takes about 30 days to drop to around pH 9. Paint it too soon and it can blister, peel and burn. The makers don't agree on one number: Behr says a full 30 days for new stucco; Benjamin Moore says at least 60 days, and seven to 10 days after repairing larger cracks in old stucco. Sherwin-Williams' Loxon Concrete & Masonry Primer is made for masonry at least seven days old with a pH up to 13.
Rub the wall with a dark cloth. White powder on the cloth and faded color underneath is chalking: the old paint breaking down, and new paint will not bond to it until it is washed off. A crusty white deposit that vanishes when wet and returns as the wall dries is efflorescence, salt carried out of the wall by water. Sherwin-Williams' advice is to delay painting while it keeps forming, so we find the water first. How to tell the stains apart →
Some cracking is normal; the Stucco Manufacturers Association expects cracks radiating from the corners of windows and doors. Sherwin-Williams warns that stucco cracks will telegraph through the topcoat, so they are repaired before color. Benjamin Moore's rule: if you can stick a credit card in a crack, open it up, prime and patch it; minor cracks can take an acrylic caulk. Behr's elastomeric instructions route out cracks wider than 1/16″ and patch them with an elastomeric patching compound.
Sherwin-Williams says new stucco always should be primed or conditioned, with a primer that can go on high-pH surfaces, which also helps minimize efflorescence later. Behr calls for priming every uncoated, patched or chalky surface before its elastomeric goes on. On a repaint, that is why every patch and bare spot gets primer before the topcoat.
A regular exterior acrylic is a normal paint film; Sherwin-Williams' stucco recommendation is two coats of SuperPaint or one of Duration over primer. An elastomeric is a thick, rubbery coating: Behr describes its version as built to expand and contract, bridging hairline cracks, at a final dry film of about 10 to 15 mils. Sherwin-Williams suggests elastomeric when the job calls for waterproof protection. It costs more and isn't needed on every house, so we recommend it based on your walls. How long each one lasts →
The National Weather Service in Miami puts the median start of South Florida's summer season at May 21 and its end at October 17 (Miami International Airport, 1956–1997), with 69% of the year's rain falling in it. In light winds, afternoon thunderstorms develop over southeast Florida and affect most areas. Behr's elastomeric label says not to apply it if rain or heavy dew is expected within 24 hours, and to apply only at 50–90°F air and surface temperature. That is why, in summer, we plan around afternoon storms and paint in the morning.
Whole-home repaints across South Florida: the same house, before and after.
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