Yes, Keim is a possibility as they offer a silicate paint that can be put onto acrylic. So it does not get rid of the acrylic but doesn't further compromise the stucco with more impermeable layers over it. I believe Romabio says their paint is not to go over acrylic, and they were less than forthcoming about exactly what is in their paint. Keim was more open about ingredients when I asked. The Keim silicate mineral paint formulated to cover acrylic (the only one I found that is) will be the way I go with this if I can't find a way to get the acrylic paint off. I tell you if someone came up with an easy, practical way to get paint off stucco, they would become very rich very quickly! As for a binder followed by a re-do on the stucco -- what I was told by the stucco companies I called was that new mesh had to be put up all over the house over the acrylic paint then the stucco, then the colored stucco (lots of stuff and steps). I cannot imagine adding that much weight to the walls, and the expense is another factor, though Keim paint is certainly not cheap.

Many years ago I had a customer who wanted me to paint his stucco house. I recommended that he get a stucco contractor to return to a stucco finish coat. The contractor did apply a bonding agent and then "painted" the stucco with the stucco finish coat. I am not sure what exactly what was used, but only that in thickness it was more like paint, not a heavy stucco coat. This is what is normally done to stucco. A cement base "paint" is put over the stucco to renew the appearance., usually after old cracks and such are patched.

My late wife was German and we made many trips "home" over the last 50 years. i was always amazed at how good hundred/century old buildings would look after a fresh coat of "Putz" , as they called it. Germany has had a program to retro fit all the old buildlings with new energy efficient windows. Between the windows and the fresh stucco, they look absolutely new!

I agree, David, the Europeans are much more sensible about their homes than we. We settle for lousy paint that has to be redone every few years. Their finishes last decades. I think the problem is binding to the acrylic. As far as I know (and I could be wrong) there is no binder that can be put onto acrylic for the purpose of a coating of cementious paint (fog coat). Except for Keim's silicate paint, I don't know of any product that will bind to that garbage (had to watch my language there!). The acrylic is so thin and the stucco so textured, I have been tempted to just try a spot where I hit it with the thin stucco mixture (painting with stucco or fog coating). However, if that were possible, I think someone would be doing it.

As I said, this was about 35 years ago, and I have no idea what the stucco contractor used as a bonding agent. I know that plasterers use a water based bonding agent for where their plaster patch has to bond and feather out thinly onto to the latex based paint around it. Perhaps this is the type bonding agent necessary?

I know this is an old thread but...

I started researching paint removal from stucco after buying our house in 2013. It has two layers of paint- the most recent is a faded cheap Barney purple acrylic and the first is a presumably oil based light gray. I too wish we could turn back time and stop both paint jobs before they happened. Especially the first, which was sprayed on by a less-than-competent painter who painted the slate roof along with the dormer's stucco. He then came back and painted over his mess with a 'slate gray' color- and you can imagine what our roof looks now...

I still have a purple house but I have gone down many avenues in search for a solution. There are commercially available paint strippers that will do exactly what you need but they become incredibly expensive when you start looking at the amount needed to do an entire house. Dumond makes several lines of strippers for various surfaces and paint types. More prevalent now are the soy and citrus based strippers that are 'safer' but require multiple applications if there are multiple layers of paint. The good news is that there are more and more contractors specializing in large scale paint removal as more attention is being paid to the importance of restoration/preservation but also with the rise in repurposing industrial buildings throughout various urban areas for housing etc. I was given a quote by a company who sounded knowledgeable and experienced enough to do the job, but the price was simply too high for the house. Sand/media blasting is an option but as noted is a huge cost and mess. I went as far as to make my own alkaline based stripper and wasted a lot of time testing recipes and applications etc. It was labor and time intensive as well as messy and dangerous but cheap. Multiple applications were required but in the end the alkaline stripper disolved the underlying oil based coat, allowing the purple acrylic paint to be powerwashed off with a bit of effort. Still after all my trouble I only completed one gable before calling it quits. If your paint will come off just by powerwashing -without damaging your stucco- then by all means take advantage of that situation! Spend some time caulking around windows and doors with silicone (think of using big globs that you can peel out later), duct-tape between storm windows and frames and seal up any possible entry point for water. Mine wouldn't budge with power washing alone but after applying the stripper, I had luck using a rotary surface attachment on my powerwasher wand- it's designed for concrete driveways etc and is awkward to hold up against a wall but it greatly reduces the mess.

I am now planning to use a mineral paint over our painted stucco. After working inside and out of this house for 5 years, I have concluded that the two poorly applied layers of paint aren't causing any serious issues with breathability- as long as they arent continuously added to! This house is old and drafty and there is plenty of ventilation behind our stucco as it doesn't reach below our brick foundation and is open into the soffits/eave cavities and roof system etc... It gets enough air. This is also helped by the fact our stud bays are not filled with insulation or foam, there are no vapor barriers, and our climate isn't terrible...

Where are you now with your stucco project?

Hi HU-350932568,

In the end, I decided on Keim paint (Soldalit if I'm spelling that right). There just wasn't any other non-toxic, cost-effective, non-damaging way to deal with the acrylic paint. The Keim paint basically gives you back a mineral finish while at the same time preventing the acrylic paint from further degrading. Our stucco repair person just finished up a couple weeks ago, and I'm still waffling a bit about color. Will be ordering the Keim very soon. We only had one coat of acrylic-latex paint. You might want to talk with the support people at Keim about your oil and acrylic paint layers, though I don't think they will be a problem. Power washing, sand blasting, and stripping are all terribly risky. They can damage the stucco, get water into fine cracks that you cannot even see, and alter the ph to the detriment of the original stucco. I think you will feel like a million dollars after the purple is gone. Have you decided on a color? How about pink? (just kidding!)

I haven't gotten as far as choosing a color or speaking to Kleim about specifics. The one gable that I fully stripped looks so nice as is- Ive been dragging my feet before taking the plunge. I just love the way it darkens in rainy weather and it has so much character compared to neighboring houses with painted stucco- even those with nice neutral stucco-like colors...

Post an update once you've painted your house- I'd love to hear how you like the results

Best

Following with interest. We have a stuccoed Victorian and need to have some patchwork done. All of the contractors we spoke to said they would try their best to match the existing color, but I think we are going to have to fog coat (or paint) if we want it to look decent. I knew acrylic paint was a bad idea but I didn't know this Keim mineral stuff existed.

Old thread revival here and I wonder how you guys did with your projects. Would love to see photos. We are in Southern California w/ a 1959 mid century modern that originally had stucco walls between posts and walls of glass. The stucco has been painted, stuccoed over and painted again. It's hard to know exactly what to do, but we've found what seems to be a reputable contractor willing to sandblast all stucco down to the brown coat, patch that smooth, then restucco. Since we are in the middle of a restoration and have not yet done the yard or any other exterior surfaces, it seems like now or never. So, we are going for it.

Another contractor wanted to power wash all loose material, add a layer of glue, then fiberglass mesh the entire house, then stucco over that. It seems like a robust solution, but sandblasting away all the old paint seems like the old-school and more authentic way to handle this.

If anyone responds to this post I'll post pictures when we are done.

Matt L So, in the end I've decided to go with Keim Soldalit over the old acrylic paint. They make a product that will bind back through the old acrylic and yet give a mineral finish to the stucco. It isn't cheap. It's from Germany, but available here in the U.S. The shipping is probably going to be as expensive as the paint. But it is cheaper than sand blasting or power washing and way less risky and time consuming. Will be doing it this summer when the weather is nice.

Still in the process of removing old faux Tudor "beams" from the exterior and replacing with stucco bump outs and replacing windows. Got sidetracked from the project when problems with the chimney were discovered and had to be dealt with, and there was an illness and death in the family. Can't believe it was three years ago that I started to look into conventional repainting alternatives! https://keim-usa.com/portals/0/app/clientresources/documents/KEIM%20Soldalit%20Brochure_1301e.pdf

Did you consider La Habra Allegro II? Allegro II Cement Coating provides a cost-effective, durable and long-lasting colored coating that can be applied to portland cement surfaces such as: Stucco, Paint grade stucco, Concrete block/Concrete masonry unit (CMU) and Precast concrete. Unlike paint, it allows the stucco to breathe according to the manufacturer.

Do you know if it is similar to Keim? I'm still researching the best solution to freshing-up our 20/30 float finish stucco house that was built 23 years ago. Do you think we should just fog coat it?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Here is picture.

It is my understanding that only Keim Soldadit can be applied over previously-painted stucco surfaces. It bonds back through the paint onto the cement, at the same time giving back a natural mineral exterior. If your stucco isn't painted, then your options are greater, and you can fog coat to refresh the color.

Thank you. I spoke with a LaHabra rep today who said I can't use the Allegro II on a rough stucco finish - only on smooth surfaces. I think the best long term option would be to fog coat it. I hope your project is coming along nicely.