# What to paint first stucco or eves?



## mikemalick (May 16, 2016)

I am a General contractor is Southern California I am going to paint (spray) my own house because I want to and I am a professional. I am not sure which would be the fastest and easyist way to go. I have a stucco body with some siding in front. 
The color for the stucco is going to be a medium gray color and the trim and eves are going to be a PURE WHITE. Can I paint the stucco first then tape off the stucco with 12" paper and then paint the eves? My question is will the over spray from the eves stick to the stucco or will the little bit of over spray just fall to the ground? Please no smart ass remarks!


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

I always sprayed the body first and then did the eaves and trim with brush and roller instead of spraying. What little bit of paint ended up back on the siding was easy to wipe away or touch-up over.

If you do spray the eaves and trim I believe the overspray will stick to the stucco very nicely if you don't mask it off enough. How much you have to mask depends on the spraying conditions and your own spray technique. Guess if it were me I would cover more than twelve inches just to be safe. 

Also, don't forget to be careful of your roof when spraying the eaves and trim. Pretty easy for over spray to roll over and settle onto the shingles or tiles where it will be highly visible - especially if they are a darker color and your trim is going to be white.


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## journeymanPainter (Feb 26, 2014)

mikemalick said:


> I am a General contractor is Southern California I am going to paint (spray) my own house because I want to and I am a professional. I am not sure which would be the fastest and easyist way to go. I have a stucco body with some siding in front.
> The color for the stucco is going to be a medium gray color and the trim and eves are going to be a PURE WHITE. Can I paint the stucco first then tape off the stucco with 12" paper and then paint the eves? My question is will the over spray from the eves stick to the stucco or will the little bit of over spray just fall to the ground? Please no smart ass remarks!


Spray your soffits, let them sit for a few days, then double mask(two layers of tape and paper) then hit your body


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

RH said:


> I always sprayed the body first and then did the eaves and trim with brush and roller instead of spraying. What little bit of paint ended up back on the siding was easy to wipe away or touch-up over.
> 
> If you do spray the eaves and trim I believe the overspray will stick to the stucco very nicely if you don't mask it off enough. How much you have to mask depends on the spraying conditions and your own spray technique. Guess if it were me I would cover more than twelve inches just to be safe.
> 
> Also, don't forget to be careful of your roof when spraying the eaves and trim. Pretty easy for over spray to roll over and settle onto the shingles or tiles where it will be highly visible - especially if they are a darker color and your trim is going to be white.


 So you work from the bottom up? Seems legit. lol


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## lilpaintchic (Jul 9, 2014)

If u were a professional painter, u wouldn't be asking! Sorry buddy, you don't get to bully the professionals into trade secrets. I'll tell ya how to do it for $350 though!


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## LA Painter (Jul 28, 2009)

alrighty then...


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

Yup, another cheap ass contractor.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Boco said:


> So you work from the bottom up? Seems legit. lol


Yep. As I said, I never sprayed the eaves or trim unless the eaves were going to be the same color as the body. And since I didn't want to have to tape off the already finished trim, I did the spray work on the body first, then did the rest by brush and roller. Rarely ever had anything come down on the body and what little bit that did was easy to deal with.


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

Boco said:


> So you work from the bottom up? Seems legit. lol


Spraying the body of a house and then brushing/rolling the eaves is not uncommon. Sometimes that's the most efficient way to get the job done.


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

Ever hear of ladder marks. You will never have them on my jobs. Its also a lot faster to spray then cut and roll. If your going to spray everything start from the top and work down. You can do it how ever you want but while your waiting for the paint to dry and being careful not to get any paint on the body while brush and rolling. I will be out on the lake in my boat drinking beers.


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## kmp (Jan 30, 2011)

Spray and back roll the stucco, I spray a second coat as well. Mask off the soffit with two rows of 12" paper, use a small tip like a 415 and spray the soffit and brush and roll the fascia to avoid over spray on the roof. For any over spray on the stucco you can get back into the stucco color and spray touch up the stucco or just light roll it. I did hundreds of houses that way in southern AZ. when I lived there.


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## Tapwater (Aug 24, 2015)

Cut & roll the facia- spray or cut and roll the soffit & trim. Mask off the soffit & trim. Blast the body. Buy a good set of ladder bumpers and de-mask.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Since being active here on PT one thing I have certainly learned is if you put ten painters in a room, gave them a job scenario and asked them how they'd do it, you would likely get fifteen different responses. 

What works for one person may not for someone else. Just as long as you are getting compensated for the way you are doing it, staying busy, and the end result is a well done job, it's all good.


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

RH said:


> Since being active here on PT one thing I have certainly learned is if you're to put ten painters in a room, gave them a job scenario and ask them how they'd do it, you would likely get fifteen different responses. What works for one person may not for someone else. Just as long as you are getting compensated for the way you are doing it, staying busy, and the end result is a well done job, it's all good.


Ain't it so.


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## kmp (Jan 30, 2011)

Ten painters ten answers and regional differences. In the southwest all the soffits have exposed rafter tails and nails exposed from the shingles, unless there is cement tile roofs. There are very few wrapped soffits and to cut and roll that exposed stuff is a real pain in the ass.The attic is vented with bird board which is 2x4 with 2" holes with screen behind to keep out birds and bugs, hence the name bird board. That stuff can't really be painted with a brush.


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

slinger58 said:


> Spraying the body of a house and then brushing/rolling the eaves is not uncommon. Sometimes that's the most efficient way to get the job done.


 Show me one example. :whistling2:

I am not trying to start trouble but that's not how its done when spraying everything. If you have a sprayer and a couple of shields you can do everything same day. No touch ups and no waiting for paint to dry. Why anyone would cut n roll soffits/eaves when you have a sprayer on site baffles me.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

Well I will tell you how we do it in SoCal. Spray stucco first. Then spray the eaves and any gutters, the fascia boards would have already been brush and rolled by now. Just shield as you go, if you are good you will only have a half inch or so to cut back with the stucco color. Usually if it is two story, its a two day spray job. Sometimes a small single story can be done in one with two colors to spray. West coast eaves are box style, either open beam with fat corbels or regular 2x4 with fascia nailed to the front.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

Boco said:


> Show me one example. :whistling2:
> 
> I am not trying to start trouble but that's not how its done when spraying everything. If you have a sprayer and a couple of shields you can do everything same day. No touch ups and no waiting for paint to dry. Why anyone would cut n roll soffits/eaves when you have a sprayer on site baffles me.


While I agree with most of this statement regarding spraying. There is no way you have no touch-ups with just shielding. I agree you can get close on a flat run, but you still have to shield just under the starter board or the underside will not get paint, must cut that back. And on a gable eave, no way you can shield with out leaving the triangles in the cross beam corners.

Paint dries fast enough here that any ladder marks or stucco scuffs are easy to touchup, plus you have to put ladders on fresh dry paint to paint the eaves.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

slinger58 said:


> Spraying the body of a house and then brushing/rolling the eaves is not uncommon. Sometimes that's the most efficient way to get the job done.





Boco said:


> Show me one example. :whistling2:
> 
> I am not trying to start trouble but that's not how its done when spraying everything. If you have a sprayer and a couple of shields you can do everything same day. No touch ups and no waiting for paint to dry. Why anyone would cut n roll soffits/eaves when you have a sprayer on site baffles me.


Here's one. I'm not doing it (I did the kitchen walls, ceilings, cabinets recently), but the body on this one is currently getting sprayed and the soffits and eaves are all being done by hand. :whistling2:


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

Brush out fascia then brush out starter strip if needed. No touching up ladder marks. Then you will never have to wait for paint to dry and you can use higher sheens with no worries.


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

RH said:


> Here's one. I'm not doing it (I did the kitchen walls, ceilings, cabinets recently), but the body on this one is currently getting sprayed and the soffits and eaves are all being done by hand. :whistling2:


 Sweet house. Look at my above post.


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## Boco (May 18, 2013)

I will trade ya. Going to be some masking on this one.


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## lilpaintchic (Jul 9, 2014)

RH said:


> Here's one. I'm not doing it (I did the kitchen walls, ceilings, cabinets recently), but the body on this one is currently getting sprayed and the soffits and eaves are all being done by hand. :whistling2:


I'd a sprayed the crap out of that trim with a 211 or maybe a 311, run the pump at a lower pressure backmasked, and kept shootin. shoot up to the last board and just brush it in. Don't even need a cut pot, just a gun and a brush. touch it up, paint the details and whatever little bits couldn't be sprayed....done. payday!

That'll be $350. Will that be cash or card?


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## tntpainting (Apr 3, 2008)

I don't spray fascia ever to o risky on a windy day overspray will be all over the roof ,


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