Choosing the best exterior paint for your Florida stucco home can save you a lot of time, money, and hassle. Here in Florida, a good exterior paint will also help waterproof your home even as it makes it more beautiful.
A good exterior paint goes beyond just making your house look beautiful and new again. It serves a functional purpose by protecting the exterior of your home. When choosing an exterior paint you want to make sure it's 100% water repellent. Here in the Tampa Metro Area we typically see 54 inches or so of rain every single year. We also have the hurricane season to contend with from June to November. During those months it's not uncommon for us to experience severe weather regardless if hurricanes hit the area or not.
Since moisture beneath paint is a common cause of paint failure this is something you'll want to ensure for the sake of aesthetics, to say nothing of preventing your interior walls from rotting or molding away. When choosing an exterior paint for a stucco home in Florida, you want to be sure it won't:
- Be vulnerable to mold or mildew.
- Last less than 8-10 years.
- Crack or bubble.
- Change colors.
Exterior Paint Types
There are many exterior paint types, but only two of them work well on stucco.
The first is premium acrylic latex paint. The advantages include:
- Highly waterproof.
- Cost-effective.
- Remains flexible, which means it responds well to temperature changes.
- Fade-resistant.
- Highly-adhesive.
- Mold & mildew resistant.
You'll want to look for paints that contain 100% acrylic polymers to get the full benefits of this paint type.
The second is elastomeric paint. The advantages include:
- It's thick, far thicker than acrylic, which means it provides superior protection against heat, sunlight, cold, and wind.
- Flexible enough to keep up with temperature changes.
- Fade-resistant.
- Highly-adhesive.
- Mold & mildew resistant.
Some painters will tell you that elastomeric paints are inferior to acrylic. In truth, many exterior painters just don't apply them correctly. Before applying any elastomeric paint it is important to search for leaks in the entire house envelope, to correct them, and then to properly seal and clean the surface before applying the paint.
This prevents the primary problem that can arise with elastomeric paint, namely that it is prone to trapping moisture inside of walls. Of course, these are all steps that should be taken anyway, as it makes very little sense to apply a waterproof paint without dealing with the moisture that's already worked its way into your home. We don't recommend using elastomeric paint if you're not going to get professional help. Acrylic is a much safer option for the dedicated DIYer.
Best Exterior Paint Brands
There are three brands that are readily available at your local hardware store that you can count on to be consistently good. They are:
- Sherwin Williams. They make both acrylic and elastomeric paint.
- Behr makes a fantastic Masonry, Stucco, and Brick Paint. Applied correctly, Behr paints can easily last up to 20 years.
- Scott Paint makes a respectable line of 100% acrylic exterior paints. Be sure you start with their stucco primer. You'll also want to use their concrete and masonry primer sealer. After you paint, finish the whole thing off with their high-performance special coating.
Pros have access to a few more options, mainly because they can order commercial-grade paints. Still, sometimes pros like us will use the same three paint varieties above, depending on what your home needs. They're solid choices and their manufacturers are willing to warranty the job when it's done by an authorized applicator.
Worth noting...
It doesn't matter which paint you use if the job isn't done right in the first place. Before you begin, make sure you study up on the art of exterior painting and understand how to properly prep your surface. Don't forget to purchase quality paint applicators while you're at it.
Don't skip steps if you want your stucco paint to look good and last. As we discussed in another blog post about how often should you paint the exterior of your house in Florida, a high-quality stucco paint should last anywhere from 5-7 years. The initial prep work and the process you use could end up mattering far more than the paint in terms of its longevity!
If you decide taking on the house painting project yourself is too much, please consider our residential exterior painting services. We have been providing high-quality exterior painting services since 1988. We serve Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough counties including Clearwater, Countryside, Trinity, and more. You can see our entire service area here.