Stucco Textures And Finishes, A Visual Aid And Insight (2023)

Cat Face Textures:

Is smooth with smaller to larger rough areas in between as you can see in the pictures below.

These are known as inclusions and can vary in size, shape and how often they are used throughout the finish.

Can be achieved using an acrylic/synthetic OR traditional type of stucco
Can vary greatly, depending on how large and close inclusions are in relation to each other
Achieved using two coats of finish
Can be troweled on or sprayed on, but always is finished off by hand
Usually done in either a fine or medium stucco product

- Swipe left/right to see more

A Few Dash Finishes:

This finish is sprayed on and can be light, medium or heavy in volume and has it’s own unique look.

This texture can be applied by hand (for smaller areas) or sprayed on (using a small hopper gun).

Two to three coats are usually applied in order to achieve a uniform coat.

Dash finishes can range from a fine type of finish (shown below) to a heavier finish and really is dependent upon the material being used and the person applying it to the wall.

The three below are the most common types and there are different variations between these and will have slightly different looks but are basically the same type of finish.

Both synthetic and traditional stucco will work for this particular texture
Easily patched, providing that the color matches up correctly
Somewhat rough after it dries, which may be a problem for some
One person can apply this type of texture
Is applied using more air pressure (fine), an even amount of air and material (medium) or more material and less air (heavy texture)

Fine Dash Finish

Heavy Dash Finish

Knockdown Dash Finish

A Fine Dash Finish

A Heavy Dash Finish

Pebble Dash Example

Lace And Skip Trowel Textures:

These textures are one of the most common and are typically what is ingrained in most people’s minds when the think of stucco.

This texture can hide many imperfections and is great for virtually any application, residential or commercial.

There are many different variations of this finish, which can give off different subtle finished looks but they are all applied the same way and are essentially the same texture.

Traditional stucco is more common when it comes to this finish, but it can be done in an acrylic, but it will not have the depth that traditional stucco will
Applied by hand in most cases, but can be sprayed on and then “knocked down” (flattened) using a trowel
Can hide many imperfections and is a great “forgiving” texture
Is applied in two coats, a base coat and then the texture is applied
Comes in a fine, medium and coarse pattern

Fine Lace Texture

csstucco.com

Horizontal Lace Texture

Sand/Float Finishes:

This is a basic and simple kind of texture that is popular in commercial applications.

It can be fine, medium or coarse in appearance and varies depending on the manufacturer. It is troweled down and finished using a float and quick strokes.

Is a very versatile finish and can be done using traditional or synthetic/acrylic stucco
Can be applied in one coat and is one of the easiest to apply
Is usually troweled on, but can be sprayed on and then troweled down tight
A “green float” gives the finish its texture
Found in fine, medium and coarse finishes
Relatively easy to patch if color matches up and edges are feathered in nicely

Fine Sand Finish

Medium Sand Finish

Coarse Sand Finish

Smooth Textures & Finishes:

These are one of the most difficult textures to achieve, but is growing in popularity.

It is the easiest to clean and is very customizable due to the fact that different colors can be added to get a “mottled look”.

Is usually a fine cement based finish, but can be achieved using a synthetic/acrylic stucco finish too
Usually a fine/ultra fine stucco base material is used to eliminate as many lines as possible, but a medium will also work in some cases
Achieved using a “swimming pool trowel” or a “pool” trowel
Colors can be added directly to the wall to achieve a “mottled” look
Is very hard to patch and has a tendency to crack more than other finishes

A Very Smooth Finish

Smooth Finish With Aggregate

Notice the Trowel Marks on the Wall

Worm/Swirl Or Putz Finishes:

These are basically finishes that have larger pieces of aggregate in them that when trowels, leave little groove like indentations in the texture.

It is not a very common finish that is used nowadays, but is interesting to look at.

It is hard to tell that a house has this type of texture until you take a closer look at it.

Is usually a synthetic stucco finish and uses special materials (synthetic stucco mix that uses special aggregates in it) that must be used in order to achieve the texture
Comes in a fine, medium or coarse pattern that is shown below
Not a very popular finish, but different than most others in the lineup
Hard to patch and hard to apply
Is applied by hand and rubbed around in a circular motion to achieve the desired finish, most of the time using a plastic trowel (EIFS trowel)

- Swipe left/right to see more

Santa Barbara Finish:

This is like a smooth finish, but is a special material that uses much smaller sand particles to achieve the finished look.

This look is made to resemble an older adobe style home and is irregular (hand-done) in nature.

The finished look can have slight color variations, due to the cement based nature of the product, which you can fog coat or paint later for a more uniform color.

Is usually a traditional type of stucco material
Is smooth when applied and dries
Is applied in two coats using a pool trowel
Is difficult to apply and patch

merlex.com

An English Stucco Finish, Anyone?

English stucco finishes/textures are less common than some of the other types of finishes but are still found on some newer construction projects but are typically found on older buildings.

This finish is typically done with a traditional type of finish and usually not an acrylic, but would still be achievable for both types of materials.

Variations are different among individual applications
A little easier to patch than some other finishes
A less common type of finish, usually found on older buildings

Other Custom Finishes:

Some finishes are what I would call a more custom finish and these usually will have some sort of modeling that is done in the brown coat (base coat).

The image below shows what I mean, as you can see the bumps in the wall that were put in the base coat. These types of finishes will almost always have some sort of sand finish on top of them.

What Is A Stucco Color Coat?

How Thick Can A Stucco Color/Finish Coat Be Applied?

Can I Buy Stucco That Has Color In It Already?

Will A New Color Coat Fix Existing Cracks In My Stucco?

How Long Does It Take Stucco To Dry To Its Final Color?

Does Stucco Come In Different Colors?

About the author

The Stucco Guy

My name is Ryan and I have been in the construction trades for many years now and I feel that there is a huge "knowledge gap" when it comes to particular trades.... like stucco.I hope you find the information here useful. Thanks for stopping by!