Stucco Color is a loaded topic because of all of the options out there but it is a simple question to answer, if you understand a few basic things, which I will quickly outline in this article.
What Color Is Stucco Anyways?
The short answer is that stucco finishes usually use a white or gray base color, which additional color is added to in order to get the desired colors found on a stucco color chart.
Stucco base coats are gray in color because of the use of Portland cement, which is gray naturally. If you are painting your stucco, then a gray or white color can be used and the paint will cover either base color.
Finish Coat Colors:
As I mentioned earlier, the stucco finish coats can come in either a white or gray base color. This is usually only true for traditional (cement based) finishes because white is the only base color for acrylic/synthetic finishes.
Traditional Finishes: Traditional finishes that are cement based use a gray or white base color, depending on what finished color you choose. The lighter colors will use the white base, while the darker colors will use the gray base. Make sense, right?
This can be seen on almost any stucco manufacturer's color charts, as it will indicate what base material to use with a specified color pack to achieve the color on the color chart. Let me show you an example of this...
Below is an image of a couple of Omega's traditional finish colors that are available. The color number is on the left hand side and the base is indicated on the right side. In this case "Base 10" and "Base 2" are the two choices and "Base 10" is the white base material and "Base 2" is the gray base material.
Notice how the "Base 10" is used on the lighter colors and the "Base 2" is used for the darker colors.
Acrylic/Synthetic Finishes: If you are going with an acrylic or synthetic finish, then the base color will be white, just like the base color of paint is before they add the small amount of other colors to make the final color you chose from the color chip.
Below is an example of some of the acrylic color choices offered by Omega and you will only see the color name on the left side and the color reference number on the right side. There is only one base material option.
Acrylic/Synthetic stucco finishes work just like paint, when it comes to adding and choosing colors because it is a lot like paint, it just has aggregate added to it to get the desired texture along with the chosen color.
Helpful Tip: Every now and again, I have come across an acrylic color that needs a "tint base", instead of the standard base. The tint base is slightly darker and is intended for darker, richer colors but is pretty rare but worth mentioning.
Base Coat Colors:
Stucco base coats are under the final finish coats and are usually not what people ask about when referring to stucco colors but I thought it would be worth briefly mentioning anyways.
Stucco base coats use Portland cement, sand and water in most cases and since the Portland cement is gray, then the mixed up base coat is also gray in color. Even with the addition of additives like acrylic to the base coat, the final result will still be a gray color, it might just be a bit lighter.
Helpful Tip: Some Rapid Set materials (like Eisenwall) that are used as base coats can be a whitish gray or whitish tan color because they use a different type of cement. The different colored cement will change the color of the final base coat color, naturally.
