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?

I like the colour scheme you have. Perhaps the grey siding could be a tad darker. I would look into cleaning the white spalling on the brick, redoing the landscaping, and add a roof or shelter over your front door. It's a pretty house that just needs a bit of tweaking. Also, when the time comes to replace the shingles, go for black or very dark charcoal.

What direction are you going with the house? You have windows with horizontal muntins which were very modern, but then someone added the batten shutters. Your front door is Mediterranean? A couple too many styles fro me so I would decide whether I wanted to be traditional or modern and design from there.

Hi Beverly, Here are some more pics I took of the house. The way it is situated on the lot, mostly you see the tall garage from the street. I took another angle so you could see the entryway too. The front door is new, so I haven't stained it yet. I plan to do so after the painting is done. Patricia, thanks for your advice! I am new to the PNW, so it never occurred to me that a white house could look dirty and mildewy, but that does make sense. I like the look of limewashed brick, so did not think it could potentially devalue my property. These points are definitely some things I will need to think about. Thanks for your pic too, the house color of your pic is nicer than my current house color. But I have never been a fan of green houses. Are there other colors that work with reddish brick? My current house color feels very dark and heavy given the constant cloudy days. I would love to achieve a light and airy coastal feeling, if possible. I would love suggestions. My painter got delayed because of rain here, so I have a few more days to decide on colors. thank you!