Hi I had my house done in a foam stucco about 10 years ago. It was done in a light beige color with the trim in a light cream. Well its time to freshen it up. Its very dirty and has some green algae stains on one side that doesn't get a lot of light. So my first question is does it need to be cleaned first? I'm scared to power wash it and damage it? Can I use a chemical and spary it on? Or should I use a good primer and then 1-2 coats of paint. Also what type of paint should be used? Is there a special type needed? I really want to use a good quality and not have to worry about painting it for another 7-10 years as it is a rental property. The first floor of the house is brick and the stucco portion is on second floor. Would it help to go darker so that it hides dirt better ? Thanks

I had a question some time ago about the right kind of paint to use on stucco (I have no idea what foam stucco is), and I don't think I got any responses. Maybe stucco is not commonly used? I am under the impression that stucco paint needs to allow the stucco to breathe, but that's as far as we've gotten. We've decided to focus on the interior first, so I've not done any more research. If I were you, I'd ask at a paint store AND also ask stucco (or foam stucco) experts. There may in fact be special paints you should use.

Maybe you can try a large swatch of the finalists and see what happens after a couple weeks. It depends on what color your "dirt" is. Your side yard is all paved so I don't really know that you would pick up much from the ground. The light stucco on my building bases did not seem to get too dirty. Some of the darker colors were darker than the actual dirt or airborne "soot" or whatever it is, and showed dirt more. Kind of like a dark car (or black pants to use your analogy)...So it depends on your local environment.

Wow! Thanks for the ideas. I never considered dark trim. Here are a couple pics that inspired the house and the color scheme. But I'm definitely going to consider dark trim now! I'm searching for pics to inspire that new direction.