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Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a coating for walls and ceilings and for decoration. Stucco may be used to cover less visually appealing construction materials such as concrete, cinder block, or clay brick and adobe.

A variety of materials can be used to make stucco. Traditional stucco uses lime, a material made by baking limestone in kilns so that it calcifies, along with sand, cement and water. These elements are mixed into a paste which can be troweled onto a surface or molded, as used to be common with interior stucco. Stucco made in this fashion is durable, strong, and heavy.

Stucco can be painted. Acrylic-based paints and coatings are very compatible with stucco. Alternatively, you could consider a colored stucco finish. These finish coats are often made with white cement and pigments, providing the widest range of colors. Premixed materials are color matched from batch to batch and are most consistent. Additionally, the fact that you are placing a finish coat with a nominal thickness of 1/8 in. instead of a paint layer usually gives more assurance of complete coverage.

While the service life of stucco can’t be quantified as a specific number of years, properly applied and maintained stucco is as durable as any commonly used cladding material. Its hard surface resists abrasion and can take a lot of physical abuse. It stands up to all sorts of climates, from cold to hot and wet to dry. Many older projects built in the early 70s have had very little maintenance and remain in good shape today.

The Technical Service Information Bureau (TSIB) is a trade group in southern California serving the needs of the wall and ceiling industry regarding lath, plaster, and drywall. They have an excellent online resource depicting plaster textures.

The 30 textures shown on the site are accompanied by suggested application procedures. This gives material (ingredient) advice, where appropriate, and methods of applying or finishing the plaster to achieve specific appearances.

It is important to be aware of regional differences in naming finishes. Certain parts of the country may call a specific texture by another name than described by the TSIB. That is why this site is so beneficial: it provides visual depictions of each finish to prevent misinterpretations that might