Stucco Tools, Tips and Techniques Discuss Stucco in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; I wouldn't bother using dye for the stucco. It takes a lot of pigment to get it the shade you ...

[cuda]

I wouldn't bother using dye for the stucco. It takes a lot of pigment to get it the shade you want and then is very difficult to control the color matching from batch to batch if your using several small batches, unless you have a lot of experience with it. The color selection is limited compared to stain, which can be mixed in nearly as many colors as paint. Also, some colors seem to fade over time and with sun exposure. I would parge it and then stain it any color you want. The stain has great coverage with very little material and will go on very quickly and easily. The one drawback is that if you chip the stucco deeper than the stain penetrates, it will show the natural color. However, if you keep a little leftover stain on hand, it's an easy and quick fix.

Also, it's a great idea to spray the underlayment, whether it be block, backerboard or whatever so it doesn't suck the moisture out of the stucco. It will also help adhesion a great deal. I, too, went back and misted the previously finished sections as I went along. Maybe every half hour for a few hours.

[Ken524]

Guy,

I didn't use any colorant. I decided I wouldn't be able to get multiple batches of stucco colored consistently. I applied plain stucco and painted with Home Depot's (Behr brand) Masonry & Stucco paint. Worked like a champ.

The funny thing is that once it was painted, the supreme commander who must be obeyed didn't like the color, so we bought another gallon and did a second coat (what you see in my final pics and my avitar pic).

So, if we HAD added colorant to the stucco I probably would have had to paint anyway .

[Ken524]

Guy,

If you are interested in the *exact* color we used, I would be happy to grab the can and give you the Home Depot color name and mix numbers.

[mrgweeto]

Good thoughts My masonry supply company said the same thing. He was concerned with fading using the color additives. He feels it is safer to use the stains and or paints that are recommended for cement/stucco products. I can see how it would be a lot easier to colr match the way Ken and Cuda finished off their inclosures. We are going to finish putting the sheating on the roof tonight and with any luck flash and put on the shingles in the middle of the week. The last thing we will do is the stucco. I don't want to have 2 of us on the roof hammering and worrying about cracking the stucco.
Once again thanks for the advice.
G

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

I used the Quikrete coloring, and so far have'nt been dissapointed but its way too early to tell. (only been a few months) Though my thoughts were if the colorant didnt work out well, Which it did, I could always repaint.... Matching the color between batches was not that hard, I took the water recomendations off the package and mixed the colorant into the water before i mixed into the SBC (surace bonding cement) also put the acrylic fortifier into the mix of water and color before. It worked out well, I was worried I might have to add more water and that would change the color, but it wasnt necessary.

I mixed half a bag at a time in the mixer and found I had plenty of time to apply it.

Mark

P.S. Is there a difference between concrete stain and concrete paint or are these different terms for the same thing ?

[mrgweeto]

There is acrylic concrete stain and acid concrete stain and concrete paint. The paint is used a lot on garage and cellar floors. It is enamal and pretty durable. The acrylic stain is exactly that. It is brushed or rolled on. The acid stain is a chemical reaction process. Haven't looked into that but I think I am going to look into the acrylic stains. They have a large array of colors. Not quite sure what the steps are if you want to change the color at a later date because it permeates into stucco.It may be fairly opaque so you may be able to go right over it.
G

[mrgweeto]

Ken,
That would be most helpful. Being that I have a vowel at the end of my name I like that color. It is what I call Tuscan.
Guy

[cuda]

Acid stain etches the cement and allows metal salts that are carried in the stain to penetrate and color it. It is generally translucent and allows the cement to show any characteristics that it already had, like cracks or rust and oil stains.

Acrylic stain is what you want. It can be pigmented in any color you like and covers very well. It is thinner than paint and penetrates very well. Because it's thinner than paint, it allows all of the stucco texture to remain visible, rather than slightly muting or smoothing it, like thicker paint would.

The problem I found with color matching with dye was that I always needed to use more water than what the bag called for in order to have a nice, workable mix that didn't set up too quickly. When that happens, the varying amounts of water dilute the previously added colorant by slightly different amounts, batch to batch. It wasn't really that noticeable until days later when the stucco was cured that I noticed the slight differences in shade. It was enough for me to go with stain on future jobs.

[mrgweeto]

Acrylic stain it is. I like the idea of having more control. Hows the Ohio weather treat your oven?
Thank you

[Ken524]

Guy,

The color we used was from a Behr color chip from Home Depot. It's called: Canyonland B-571.

Have fun staining. Can't wait to see the results!