Paul: It’s just a basic stucco house. I believe it was built in the early ‘80s, so it’s kind of like that salmony pink color and there’s a picture of it there. And again, it’s got vinyl windows. We’re not painting anything other than the stucco.
Uh, the problem is that this stucco has some hairline cracks specifically on the east side. The whole wall is like spider cracking. Now, it’s not crumbling to pieces but there’s these little cracks, and I noticed in certain areas around the downspouts, areas where moisture is, it is chalky. And it comes off on my hands, and it’s chalky, so, what would you recommend as a product? It’s a very basic project, stucco home – California stucco. Millions of houses have this on it. What would you recommend as a product from Sherman Williams?
Melissa: So, I was laughing because I asked, you know, a couple of peers what would they use, and overall the answer was the same. But I know that the term elastomeric comes up when we’re talking about stucco houses. And, actually, the new train of thought is elastomeric, it’s almost too thick and it almost creates too much of a profile on stucco. So if you have that really nice traditional stucco home, the beauty of it is in that texture and if you’re using a true elastomeric coating, it’s going on so thick, it could actually take off some of the original stucco or it’s going to create such a profile that it’s going to mitigate your stucco texture that was there.
So, not everyone likes this and they really want to keep that texture, so, my recommendation would be the Super Paint Exterior Low Luster actually, for this application, or the Emerald Rain Refresh. So they’re both acrylics. They both go on a little bit thinner and they’re still going to bridge the hairline cracks. I have a little measurement if you want, for if you know, if it’s too big of a hairline crack and it should be caught or if you’re going to be okay with these coatings, and if our paint is going to bridge that gap. And that’s if it’s bigger than the size of a credit card. So, if you have hairline cracks and they’re truly hairline, you’ll be perfect with both these coatings and they’re going to bridge those hairline cracks.
If it’s a larger crack and it’s thicker than the size, like, you know, the edge of a credit card, that’s where you would maybe want to go with something a little bit thicker, which is where our LOXON XP would come in. Yes, this is actually not a true elastomeric coating, but it’s going to have that thicker build. You know, you might lose a little profile on your stucco, but not nearly as much as an elastomeric. And if it’s a really old house that’s never been painted before, your coating’s gonna suck so much paint in, I might recommend this over the Emerald Rain Refresh and Super Paint Exterior Low Luster.
Paul: So the Emerald Rain Refresh, that product, that’s quite a bit more expensive. And, tell me more about it, like, what does it do specifically different from, say, the Super Paint?
Melissa: So, the Emerald Rain Refresh, it’s the same as the LOXON Self-Cleaning in what they’re supposed to do. So, if you have a stucco house, you already know that you have some dirt issues. You can have some cobwebs that get blown, it gets stuck in the texture of the stucco. If you have a tree in the backyard, you know you’re going to see that dirt. And especially since, normally, like the look is to go for a lighter color on these homes.
Paul: Yes.
Melissa: The Emerald Rain Refresh is going to, again, it’s going to mitigate the first that even catches onto the home, as well as when it rains, it’s going to wash all that dirt and imperfection away. So personally, I know which one I would be picking for some of these large stucco homes. If for nothing else, after a rainstorm, it’s, you know, it’s going to be looking like a fresh paint job. If you can’t go for the Emerald Rain Refresh or your budget doesn’t call for that, but you’re not willing to go for something entry-level like A100, and you want that lifetime warranty, Super Paint actually offers you Moisture Lock technology as well, so what that means is if it rains, the paint dries from the inside out. And you get lucky because if it rains within two hours of your paint job, you’re not going to completely blow it.
Paul: I’ve seen that, and I’ll testify that it’s true. In fact, that house we painted last year, it rained about an hour and a half after, and it came down on the whole side. The black clouds came out of nowhere in the middle of the afternoon, and we packed up, and literally by the time we left, maybe within an hour, it started raining and hitting the side. And I just was worried all night long, and then I woke up the next morning, came back, and it still looks good today. And it’s about a year later, so I can attest that that Moisture Locks technology is amazing, and it does work.
