Stucco comes in gray and white because that is what Portland cement comes in. Add pigment and you can have any color you like — and unlike paint, it will not need redoing every few years. The color wraps around the cement particles and runs right through the mix, so chips and scrapes show the same color underneath.
A beach house finished in integrally colored stucco.
How to color stucco
You do not need a professional to do it, and in the story below the stucco contractor did not charge extra to add it. Whether you are mixing your own or using pre-bagged, all you need is the weight of the Portland cement in the mix.
- Weigh the Portland cement in your stucco mix
- Open the Portland cement pigment calculator
- Enter the base color — usually white for a white-cement stucco
- Enter your target color and the cement weight
Worked example A 94 lb bag of white Portland cement, colored at the 5 lb dose step, needs 5 lb of pigment — the step is the dose, so a shade written -5 is 5 lb per 94 lb sack
The calculator, step by step — base color, target color, cement weight.
Protecting the color
Outdoors, finish with an acrylic or penetrating sealer. The color itself is fade-resistant, but a sealer protects the surface from weathering and keeps it looking new for longer.
A beach house, and about $4,000 saved
Jim wanted his beach house exterior to survive a harsh ocean environment without repainting. He used a gray-based stucco with Tarnished Brass pigment added to the final mix. His stucco contractor added the color at no extra charge, and the job was finished inside a week.
— Jim, DIY Customer
Colored Stucco: FAQs
Do I need a professional to color stucco?
No — and in the project here the stucco contractor did not charge extra to add it. It works whether you are mixing your own or using pre-bagged.
How much can coloring stucco save?
Jim’s beach house saved almost $4,000 by not painting the exterior — a gray-based stucco with Tarnished Brass pigment added to the final mix, done in under a week.
What happens when colored stucco gets damaged?
Nothing shows through, because the color runs all the way through rather than sitting on the surface. That is the real advantage over paint.
Does colored stucco need sealing?
The color itself is fade-resistant, but outdoors finish with an acrylic or penetrating sealer — it protects the surface from weathering and keeps it looking new for longer.
What's Next
- Work out quantities → Pigment Calculator
- Other surfaces → Cement, Stucco, Grout and Overlays
- The fundamentals → Integral Color Concrete
- Mortar to match → Custom Mortar Colors
- Applying stain outdoors → How to Apply Outdoor Concrete Stain
- Choosing a sealer → The Best Concrete Sealer
- Prefer a reactive, mottled look? → Acid Stain Colors Guide
- Mixing it evenly → How to Mix Concrete Pigment Powder Without Streaks
- Every shade and its dose step → Concrete Pigment Color Chart
- Shop → Concrete Powder Pigment · Pigment Sampler
Direct Colors. Shawnee, OK. Manufacturing the full decorative concrete system since 1997.
