| After
mortar has set up for 7 hours, you should be able to
take a fire hose to it, and not cause any damage,
EXCEPT in cold weather. In cold weather the finish
takes maybe 3 days or so to set up all the way. If it rains in the meantime, the color can get messed up, but not the texture. It this case, it doesn't matter, because the wall gets painted anyway. We do have a magic solution for fixing the color, check out the next question. The stucco should set up 30 days before painting, unless you are in a real pinch. By painting the stucco you are sealing the pores, and interfering with the curing process. Painting the stucco before 30 days, the mortar would never reach maximum strength. Sure, it only has to be so strong, but by painting the stucco very prematurely, say in less than 2 weeks, you risk having paint peeling in the future because the stucco has too much of a water content. The best paint to use on new stucco is masonry paint and masonry primer. I wrote that elastomeric paint was the best back in 1999 when I started my FAQ page. I changed my mind and opinion since then all the information is pretty much obsolete. I don't plan to edit the page because it is still way up there in the search engines and directs people here. |