more DIY home repair advise needed

[KG]

ok, now i'm moving to paint the outside of the house. it is a block house with a pigmented stucco that's never been painted and aluminum siding on the gables, soffitts etc. after the pressure washing, going to spray it with a latex satin ext paint.

first, at several locations, there are hairline cracks in the stucco, at the motar joints. the stucco seems other wise sound at those places, so i was just planning to seal those with some latex caulk.

second, any advice on using airless sprayers? never used one before, but they can't be too hard to use.

[GregW]

1. My experience with airless sprayers ...

is to use a roller. Most painting is vertical, and I find with the right technique and equipment can do it faster than with my Wagner. Sprayers are excellent in difficult spaces (like on soffits where two eaves meet) but as most sprayers recommend you back roll anyway, why not do the whole thing with a roller.

[KG]

2. those aluminum soffits gotta be sprayed at least.

they got alot of little holes, plus alumninum soffits just lay in- rolling them would be a nightmare.

edit - i'm planning on using one of those commercial type airless sprayers.

[Lefty48197]

3. Spray it first, then either roll it or brush it

that's how the pros do it. Spraying saves you the trouble of dipping your roller in a bucket over and over again.

[jmowreader]

4. How to fix stucco

http://www.hgtv.com/cr/cda/article_print/1,1250,HGTV_3806_1375024,00.html

Note: this article just says "pre-mixed stucco compound." There are two kinds of stucco--lime-based and cement-based--and you must use the same product to fix the stucco. How to tell: get a pointed trowel--the one that looks like a spade from a deck of cards, and it doesn't have to be very big--and try to scratch the stucco. If you can get some off, it's lime-based; if you scratch it and it just gives you a dirty look, it's cement-based.

If it's cement-based, use the Type S Mortar Mix you can get at the home improvement warehouse. It comes in 60-lb bags. (Be careful: there are two kinds of mortar, Type S and Type N. Type S is much stronger.) You'll need to go to a masonry supplier to get lime-based stucco mix.

[Don_G]

5. You're Doing Everything Right So Far

Clean everything using the pressure washer.

Paint can't adhere to dirt and latex-based paint will allow you to paint earlier than you should.

If there are a few cracks you're not confortable with, then use paintable Latex Caulk to seal the drafts and paint the joints afterwards.

I've never used an airless sprayer but the professionals in my area don't because they're too hard to clean for the next job. They feel it's easier and cheaper to buy a new brush and roller cover for each job than to spend a few hours cleaning the sucker.

[KG]

6. was thinking i might roll the stucco.

but the soffits gotta be sprayed.