One of the major upsides to having stucco siding is its customizability and versatility when it comes to aesthetics. If you have stucco siding, there are a wide range of colors and textures you can choose from, to make your stucco siding look exactly how you want it. At Titan Stucco, our team of professional stucco contractors in Phoenix, AZ is breaking down the color process for stucco: how to add color, the different types of colorants, and the different processes you may need to be aware of.
How To Add Color to Stucco
Stucco colors can come in either powder or liquid forms, and they are typically added to the base material of your stucco, which when left natural is typically a white or whitish-gray color. The color is usually mixed in with the finishing coat of your stucco before it is applied to the wall. Powdered colors are usually meant to be used with traditional stucco finishes, while liquid colors are usually used with acrylic or synthetic stucco finishes. Ensuring your color is fully mixed is an important step in the coloring process, to make sure you have an even color across the surface of your stucco.Powdered vs. Liquid Colorants
The color you choose for your stucco will need to be added to the base material, and to ensure proper mixing with the different types of stucco, there are two different types of colors you can use: powdered colorants or liquid colorants. They both work equally well, but which one you should use is dependent on the type of stucco finish you are applying. For the dry materials of a traditional stucco finish, the powdered colorants will blend well with the dry sand and provide a seamless vibrancy throughout the stucco finish. For the more synthetic materials of acrylic stucco, the liquid colorant will blend better with the stucco process and provide an equal color throughout the stucco application. Using the right colorant is essential to ensuring you are achieving the desired color for your stucco siding.How To Add Color to Traditional Stucco Finishes
Traditional stucco finishes are made of natural materials like Portland cement, sand, and limestone. The Portland cement will determine the base color of the stucco, usually ranging from a white to a whitish-gray. Since these are all bagged, dry materials you will need to add them to water during the process to form the mixture of stucco. This is why you will typically use a powdered color, which will blend well with the dry ingredients of traditional stucco. For traditional stucco, the coloring process will typically follow these steps:- Determine the amount of water needed to mix your bag of finishing material, and use around 50% of that amount of water to mix in with the coloring powder in a bucket.
- Add the water and color mixture to the base coat material.
- Mix per the manufacturer’s instructions and add the remaining water.
How To Add Color to Acrylic/Synthetic Stucco Finishes
Acrylic and synthetic stucco finishes are typically made using liquid acrylic mixed with aggregates like sand or quartz, so the material is essentially premixed when it arrives. This means the color will only need to be added to the white base of the stucco materials before application. The process of adding the liquid color to the acrylic or synthetic stucco is very similar to the process of mixing paint, and includes adding in the color to the white base until the desired shade is achieved. The process typically follows these steps:- Open the 5-gallon bucket that the synthetic stucco materials have arrived in and set aside for mixing later.
- Shake the liquid color bottle vigorously to ensure the color is properly distributed throughout the liquid.
- Pour the color bottle into the manufacturer’s bucket of synthetic stucco.
- Mix the color according to the specifications provided by the manufacturer or seller.
