I am building a cinder block wall and will be stuccoing the exterior part of the cinder blocks. On houses, a vapor barrier is put up, then chicken wire, then a base stucco coat. After it has cured, a finish (colored) stucco coat is applied.

Is there any reason why I can't directly apply the finish stucco to the cinder block and skip the first coat? I know it won't look pretty, but I'm not worried about that. Other than appearance, what other negatives might I run into if I apply it directly to the block?

Normally... on a house there are three coats of stucco... a scratch coat - a brown coat and then a color coat. The reason for three layers of stucco is because if you put it on thick... it'll crack. If you want to stucco your cinder blocks you can use just one coat but make it a thin one and be sure to wet the underlying blocks before you slap the mud on... if you don't... the dry concrete blocks will "suck" the water right out of the stucco and it'll crack and not adhere correctly.

Good luck.