Hello, could anyone please suggest a good way to seal cracks and loose patches in exterior stucco? I have found out recently that the stucco around wooden frames of three windows is not water-proof any longer and leaks water inside the house through multiple cracks. What are good sealants for touch up repairs on exterior stucco walls? Appreciate any suggestion, h.

Windows need to be sealed with caulking. If the stucco is old, you will probably have to etch it with either Muratic acid or a powdered etch from Drylok.

Stucco repairs is best left to a stucco repair kit. Again etching will be necessary.

If you are having water issues you might want to paint initially with Drylok and then a quality latex paint.

If you don't etch nothing will stick.

Hate to tell you this but stucco was NEVER water proof. It a cementious material and can easily absorb. They have additives in it but its not water proof. There have been big suits over "water proof" stucco. Any how since I over did that a but. Remove stucco if lose or bad by wood sills. This needs to be redone Stucco should never be in contact directly with wood. Even when its stuccoed up to brick mold there should be corner flashing there and a tar/moisture membrane under stucco that's not directly over a masonry product.

To really fix that right. I would take a diamond thin wheel grinder and cut the stucco 1/4 inch or so beside the wood that's touching the stucco. Pick out a nice quality caulk to run a nice bead. The main objective here is to get the stucco that (sucks and holds moisture ) AWAY from the wood and use the bead caulk as a barrier from stucco to wood.

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Thanks for all the help! After closer examination, I have found a few spots around windows where the stucco-wood seams cracked (as in the photo). Yes, the stucco on this wall is in direct contact with wooden window frames. I sprinkled water around one of the cracks for about 10 min and this was enough to start a leak inside the house. So, I am going to cut stucco around the window, re-seal it with silicone caulk and then repaint the area around windows with a latex paint after etching. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks again.

Nope. Nothing sticks to silicone caulk. It's not paintable.

GE 100% SILICONE RUBBER CAULK GE112 G.E. SILICONE PRODUCTS (http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/ge-100-silicone-rubber-caulk-p-270.html?ref=42)

See... Non-paintable!

Unpainted caulk is okay. I wanted to use latex paint for extra water proof of the stucco areas around. Old paint is bubbling at a few other spots. Would it be okay to scratch the old paint off and then repaint or fixing bubbles takes more than this?

Your going to have to find out just how much paint wants to come off. Scrape as much as you can.

Hopefully you will not have to stucco repair it. Painting holes will give you painted holes unforunately. The stucco hopefully is adhered. So, hope that scraping won't remove the stucco.

There is a wire brush tool that can be rented from Home Depot if it has to be aggressively removed.

A scraper might work. A wire brush might work. A wire brush attached to an angle grinder might work or you might have to bring in the big tools.

Drylock will be "sucked in" by the porous cement. Then if you don't want to paint everything have a paint chip color matched with the appropriate latex.

If you never painted stucco, you can use a fluffy roller.

I will say it again.
Stucco should never be in contact directly with wood.
To really fix that right. Take a diamond thin wheel grinder and cut the stucco 1/4 inch or so beside the wood that's touching the stucco. Pick out a nice quality caulk to run a nice bead. The main objective here is to get the stucco that (sucks and holds moisture ) AWAY from the wood and use the bead caulk as a barrier from stucco to wood.

PS wear a rated mask when grinding out the stucco and safety glasss

Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone works well in the bead
Works fine for all our jobs.
DAP Products - Caulks and Sealants - DAP® ALEX PLUS® Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone (http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=2)

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21boat, thanks