How many coats of Stucco can you do?

Hey Guys, need some quick answers as I am ready for the 2nd coat. My first coast is on and as stated in the instruction some of the wire shows through and seems a bit wavy to me in spots. I used Quickcrete base coat which is Gray in color. Should I put another coat of the gray on to smooth things out and then use the white Finish coat which I am going to tint brown or just make my second coat the white coat? How many coats can I do, could I do 3? Should I stucco the Chimney as well?

Thanks, much
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Nothing stopping you from putting on a third coat. The chicken wire sticking through your first coat is expected. I’d do a white coat and then see if it was enough. Generally that coat should take care of all the gaps and the bits of wire, because it is supported by the base coat which filled in the matrix.

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Matt,

Thanks much for the reply. I just worry about my masonry skills, which are not good.

Thanks,
Jeff

That’s understandable. You might find the second coat is easier and will cover better for two reasons: the matrix thing I mentioned above, and the fact that you practiced with the first coat. That’s not a joke: masonry is partially an art, but mostly it’s a set of skills that gets better with practice. And, the gray coat is a telltale that will let you know how well you’ve covered things with the white coat.

This is where “give it a try and see how it goes” will be a good working motto for you. Good luck!

I am going to be applying a first coat today and wonder if your first coat is thick enough to serve as a scratch coat? It seems the wire poking through would serve partly the same function.
Regards,
Peyton Perkins

rochknox in the southwest region of the good ole USA many homes use stucco as the exterior of homes because it is durable to heat and fade among other reasons, it also looks good. As such, I happen to have a neighbor that has worked and applied stucco to homes and buildings for almost 30 years. I consulted with him and he basically told me he a few minutes to spare so he came over and helped me with my base, scratch and top coats.

Base coat he used Quickcrete stucco base and using his trowel pushed in at a minimum 1/2 inch into the chicken wire, some areas still exposed wire and some were even wavy as you indicated. He said not to worry this will not be an issue. Because I was on his timeline, he came over 2 days later and applied the second coat (scratch) also 1/2 thick and got it all smooth and all the chicken wire was completed covered. He then used a masonry sponge got it real wet and got it all smooth from front to back and side to side, adding stucco where needed to eliminate waves. Last thing he did was take a rake looking tool of his trade and raked it all over creating these 1/4 inch groves in the stucco (aka scratched) it so the final top coat will have something to grip onto.

After a week he was able to return and applied the top coat after mixing in some powder color packet into the top coat mix and adding water. I will say when he applied it, the top coat went on alot darker then what I was expecting, but he mentioned it will dry lighter within a few days, and it did dry to the color I was expecting to see.

Being the pro that he is, it took him maybe 45 minutes to do all three coats (not including cleanup which was my job while he sat back and enjoyed a few cold ones). Trust me I am not complaining one bit. For his professional work I was out 1 twelve pack of beer, which I think I got the better part of that deal.

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Nothing stopping you from putting on 6 coats…
Just don’t smooth and compress out the coats with a trowel very much, which would seal finish in essence. Once your are done with your non-scratch/base coats use a sponge float that’s somewhat wet to expose the aggregate and open the stucco to breath. It will also be porous and breathable that way which will be more receptive to another coat of stucco/skim coat/color coat.

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We did 2 coats of Quickcrete base coat and then added a 3rd layer of Quickcrete Finish coat. Each coat went on easier and I am glad we added the 3rd coat. After that we put on an arch of brick veneer around the door opening and tiled the rest of the oven with mosaic round penny tiles. It looks great. Project pictures coming soon.

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Sounds great, Mike! Just wondering what in particular about the third layer made you glad? I’ve got a couple of guesses but hope you can elaborate just a bit.

Looking forward to your pictures!

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