# exterior paint on smooth stucco bubbled and peeled



## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)

Doing a project that has some bubbling and peeling on smooth stucco and concrete walls. I don't think the original painter used primer. The HO doesn't want to strip all the paint off and do it right. He wants to address the troubled areas and paint the walls corner to corner. I have not dealt with this very much as i have been a fine finish cabinet and custom interior painter. I am hoping some of you have some experience you could share with me i am doing research as well. I think its moisture behind the paint as the paint is cooked inside out with a textured effect on the back side. Any ideas on a chemical wash? Primer? Paint?
I would be grateful for any help


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Ewing will have the best advice on dealing with that. Sounds like the elasto nightmare we had here a few years back that resulted in billions in lawsuits to the builders.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

How old is it?


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## Mike's QP (Jun 12, 2008)

Is there white powdery substance under the bubbled areas? Efflorecense could be the problem.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Mike's QP said:


> Is there white powdery substance under the bubbled areas? Efflorecense could be the problem.


More than likely.Call a rep in to look at it.


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Here's a few questions I would be looking for. 

Do you know what the existing coating is?

Do you know the system the prior painter used?

Is the surface under the coating chalky?

What's the PH levels of the stucco?

Is it happening in random areas or is it the entire coating? 

As NC said how old is the existing coating? And how old is the substrate?

Was it primed?

Does the surface get wet regally? Such as irrigation

Was their patch work done?

What color is the top coat?

What color is on the back side of the top coat? This can determine if it was primed and if the primer or top coat is failing

Is the surface raw where the failure occurred? (Under the bubbles.) This can also determine if there was a primer

Is there a wept screed metal at the bottom of the stucco? Or does the stucco go beneath the ground?

Is the structure properly insulated?

There are many reasons why failures happen, 1st thing we want to it blame is the coating itself. Although it may be a manufacture defect, 9 time out of 10 it's a preparation failure, application failure, a coating applied to the wrong surface, or just a bad structure. Determining what went wrong you need to back up a bit to find out where it went wrong. That takes looking at all the different scenarios and narrowing it down. 

Last time I tried helping someone they got pissed at me cause I was trying to find out what went wrong, he said "All your telling me is what may have went wrong" He just wanted a fix. Without knowing what went wrong, you can not determine what the proper cure is. So I would say you have a bit of homework to do.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Is this a tilt up? most of those are never done properly.Just cheaply


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## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks ewing thats a great trouble shooting process. i will have to look into it more tomorrow. What I do know is that there is a chaulky substance behind the failing areas and they are random. 
Its a 6500 square ft custom home. The paint job is a little over two years old they have had trouble before I was asked to work there. 
The previous painter or stucco guys applied what seems like an interior spackle in some areas and it is in bad shape. 
Whatever they used i can scrap it out with a finger nail. And it glitters like some compounds i've used in interior wall patches.
Can efflorecense blooms get that thick? 
The paint is frazee elastoguard smoothwall. 
The previous painter is notorious for his poor prep work I'm sure he probably wanted to use the stucco guys scaffolding and rushed the paint job.
The areas that i peeled off had no primer beneath it. Most areas revealed bare stucco or concrete.
Some have the spackle or efflorecense blooms. 
Stucco goes beneath the ground. 
Some of the concrete walls are in areas of irrigation. 
Any suggestion on a good exterior spot primer. This HO is like the one you mentioned on getting upset and wanting it fixed. His wife is having a party on the 9th and wants the eye sores dealt with and then wants to deal with the real problem. I looked at this place last summer and it's taken him this long to act on some of the issues. I am so gratefully for the help here on the forum.


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Ohhh yaa! I know that elastogaurd chit to well! Had about 20 home fail on me with that same product. In the palm Springs area. Same problem your having. 

The spackle compound is exactly that. Stucco guys are notorious for using that stuff for smooth stucco cause they can sand it. Most likely its a tract crew that did it. 

Well the cure is.
Cut out the effected areas out, use a knife to give it a stopping point. If you don't it can peel in sheets, because the elasticity is stronger than the adhesion.

Sponge wash the area, do. Not saturate as it can make the peeling worse. 

Prime the effected areas

Patch with stucco patching compound. 

Apply oil base primer corner to corner this will help lock moisture out 

Apply 100% Acrylic paint on top. NO elastomeric! You need a paint than can breath more. 

Here's the kicker, bubbles may reappear for 2 or 3 years, usually during or after a rain. So its just something the home owner will have to deal with, until the elastogaurd elasto is dead. It takes about 5 years for that to happen. So when they do reappear, that means you just fix them as they show up. For get about a full strip, unless your client has some serious coin. 

Where is this home located?


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Wing, would a masonry sealer be better as a primer over the bare stucco? Dunno, not many stucco homes here so its out of my wheelhouse. The term "stucco" gets thrown around loosely here in my area by people when they really mean Dryvit.


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm not sure about that, it needs a primer that will penetrate into the pores, rather than just sit on top, oil will. 

The problem with the elsatogaurd is it may have pinholes. The only way to absolutely get a tight seal on it, is using a oil base primer. It might still have a primer coat, cause the smooth coat stucco is white, as is primer. 

90% of new homes here are stucco, smooth stucco is mostly on the higher end homes and are painted, lace finish is the most common and most aren't painted.


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## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)

Thank you again for your time I appriciate it. 
The house is in Chico,California. It's on top of a canyon. Climate is super dry most of the year, then being on the top it gets pelted with rain during the season which is sporatic through out a three month span. 
I'll snap some pics of it today just for fun.


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

What's the word on your license status? That's a whole lotta work for 500 bucks  

At least your searching for a right fix!

Good luck


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## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)




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## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)




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## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)




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## 4ThGeneration (Apr 17, 2007)

I dated a gal from Chico many years ago. Anyhow, do not give a warranty said or written in any form.


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## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)

License is coming along waiting on dispositions from two different states and i can hopefully send it in by the end of the month. I did a back ground check on myself and thought it had all the info i needed for the CSLB's Disclosure Statements :no: It has become a process for me I hope to have it by the end of the year. I actually work through a GC he is a friend of mine and its all done through his deal. Saves me the hassle but costs me a bit. I am all about doing it right. I don't find alot of painters or tradesmen who practice that way. So i figure if i get fast at doing it right i'll be okay in long run:thumbup:. Such a nice home it's sad that these guys spent so much money on a problem:no: .Thanks again for the help i'll post some after pics.


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## andreagray (May 21, 2012)

Sounds like you guys are very familiar with this problem. Here is what my potential client is facing: house that have peeling stucco all over it, textured now (looks like some faux greco-roman thing) which they say was never their intent, They wanted it smooth, now they don't care, they just want ti to stick!. They say they think the guy applied the stucco (or whatever he used!) without going through the proper steps with the mesh (they say they never saw any mesh on the house during work process). What to do?
1. Apply oil-based primer on the whole house, then patch the areas that require it (there are some spots where we need to patch to create the illusion of deliberate, consistent texture). Then paint? Maybe with oil-based paint?
2. Use elastomeric paint? Is elastoguard the same thing? Or use masonry sealer? We have to to the whole house, not patches as whatever they did is not holding anywhere! HELP


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## Conley (Dec 6, 2010)

I would suggest getting a quote from a sandblasting company and have them strip the whole thing. They would use a different substance other than sand, but you get the point.
The house in the above photos is still bubbling, cracking, and peeling. The oil helped in most areas but in some it failed as well. It is failing in other new areas now and I really wish I could get them to strip it down and go from there. If your painting the whole house you could very well be married to it for life if you give a warranty. 
I am doing the one above in sections as the home owners need it. I offered no warranty and no solution. I was there today and scraped off a large bubbled area and the stucco behind it was deteriorated and fell out like sand. 
Have a paint rep come out and discuss it with the home owner. The rep that looked at this house suggested stripping and dealing with the problem.... The Stucco 
Put some pics up that would help.
Good luck


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