Readers Offer Ideas for Stucco Paint Adhesion Complaints
Two readers, so far, have responded to my plea for suggestions on helping paint adhere to the lower parts of stucco walls (Dear Dale, April 14). For those of you who missed the column, I’ll repeat the question: “We have not been able to keep paint on the lower parts of our stucco exterior walls. It sloughs off sometimes as much as one-half-inch deep into the stucco. I have used ‘dry lock’ sealer, plaster and paint, but nothing works.”
One anonymous reader suggested wire brushing the affected areas thoroughly, patching damaged stucco, if necessary, and painting with aluminum camper or trailer roof paint. Let dry and repaint with house paint. He or she indicated that this solution “lasts for years.”
Marvin L. Harris, 1680 Bedford Road, San Marino 91108, a waterproofing consultant for more than 25 years, recommends a product called HEY’DI K-11, distributed by HEY’DI American Corp., 2801 Crusader Circle, Virginia Beach, Va. 23456.
“This product reacts with the moisture in the stucco to form an impervious barrier that will prevent a paint failure,” he wrote. Harris enclosed a data sheet showing various applications of the product; I’m sure that readers with similar problems could obtain one from him.
The product sheet suggests various uses for K-11: “As a waterproofing system for foundations, basements, floor slabs, concrete tunnels, water reservoirs, sewage plants, water tanks, bunkers, swimming pools, manholes, etc.”
Applying a coat of K-11, letting it dry thoroughly and painting should solve the stucco adhesion problem.
A Long Beach reader wants to know if there is a refrigerator that will fit into the space where the upper kitchen cabinets go. It should be 18 inches or less in depth. He said that General Electric used to make a cabinet unit. The only domestic firm that manufactures anything even close to this--to my knowledge, at least--is Traulsen & Co. Inc., 3301 Leonis Blvd., Vernon, Calif. 90058. You might contact John Clay, the sales manager on the West Coast, for information about a cabinet unit. The one illustrated in the Traulsen brochure, Model UARC 1-24, is shown in a base cabinet mounting. The company is trying to make a name for itself in residential applications--it’s well known in commercial ones--so Traulsen might be able to help you.