5 Tips to Keep Your Home's Paint Exterior Shining

With spring right around the corner, many Orange County homeowners are already making to-do lists of ways they can make improvements to their properties—both inside and out.

Today, in the first of a series of home improvement articles, BJ Klabnik, owner of Orange County-based World of Colors Pros, will focus on a sometimes overlooked (yet perhaps the most important) feature of your home’s exterior—the paint. These tips will keep your home’s paint popping in the spring sun for years to come.

Protect Stucco from Lawn Trimmers, Edgers, etc.

Create an almost invisible border about one foot wide by removing the grass, putting down landscape fabric, then applying gravel or stone that matches your stucco or foundation color. For a more decorative border consider creating larger mulch beds that follow the natural curves of your yard. You’ll be surprised how much this type of border will enhance the yard.

Protect Stucco from Sprinklers

If your sprinklers are spraying water directly on your stucco, the stucco could deteriorate all the way to the scratch coat and cause internal damage to your house. Calcium deposits will also show as white streaks embedded in the stucco causing discoloration. Adjust your sprinkler heads so they don’t directly spray water over the stucco. Using a waterproofing sealer on your stucco isn’t a bad idea either.

Stucco Cracking

You should seal your stucco cracks with textured elastomeric stucco patch products. Avoid using any silicone products since silicone isn’t paintable. It can also be an eye sore since it will not blend with the existing stucco structure.

Mold

Too much vegetation and foliage around the house could cause mold problems on your stucco, fascias and eves. The path of excessive moisture must first be discovered and stopped. Mold remediation could include washing it with one part bleach to three parts water. Let the solution sit on stucco for 20 minutes and then spray with the garden hose.

Efflorescence

Efflorescence is a mineral salt deposit. These deposits are most commonly observed as a white dust on stucco, but may also manifest themselves in brown or green colors. These water-soluble salts are present, in varying degrees, in the materials used to mix the stucco. They may also originate at any point where stucco meets the soil. As water enters the stucco it dissolves the salts and pulls them to the surface. The water then evaporates, leaving the salt deposits behind. I suggest a non-toxic solution to neutralize the salt deposit as they are brushed away. Power washing the entire house is recommended as well. To prevent further efflorescence high quality acrylic paint should be used and a clear sealer could be applied. Without water in the stucco there is no mechanism for the salts to concentrate on the surface.

World of Colors Pros is a full service painting and remodeling company specializing in home improvement for residential homeowners in Orange County. To schedule an appointment, call 714-251-1609 or email Worldofcolors@hotmail.com.