What to do with these exterior cracks before painting.

[Mottie]

We are going to completely decorate our mums bungalow before putting it up for sale but on the outside, it has hairline cracks to the existing coating. Do they need to be raked and filled before painting or will textured paint fill/cover the cracks?

 

[opps]

If the house is being sold soon. Masonry paint alone will suffice. It should be good for a few months. If need be, throw some builders sand at the paint on the cracks and stipple it with a brush if the cracks are still slightly visible. I don't think you will need to though.

 

[accelerator]

Personally I would fill them with masonry filler as it would provide longevity and wouldn't take much longer, but I'm not sure how you would recreate the texture.

 

[Wayners]

Textured paint is just paint with sand in.
Watch Charliediy on YouTube fill masonry.
Cut out and fill with toupret masonry filler

 

[opps]

Textured paint is just paint with sand in.
Watch Charliediy on YouTube fill masonry.
Cut out and fill with toupret masonry filler

Why bother if the house is gonna be sold in the next couple of months?

When presented with those kind of cracks, I use an angle grinder to open up the crack and then brush in dilute SBR. I then gun in Toupret Flex and Fill. I let it shrink back and then fill with Toupret Touprelith F. And yeah, then dust the masonry paint with sand. But the house is presumably being sold soon. I don't see the point of spending that long dealing with it. Caveat emptor and all that.

 

[accelerator]

Why bother if the house is gonna be sold in the next couple of months?

To get a better price of course.

 

[Wayners]

There are a few ways to do it @opps and the YouTube channel I mentioned tries 3 different products.
Looking at picture I can't help think it's going to show its been filled though. Too many cracks.
Maybe see if it sells as is before trying to fix

 

[opps]

To get a better price of course.

I get your point. Those kind of cracks can often be hidden with with masonry paint alone. Yes, they often/probably will reappear but if the house sells before that happens, I don't see the point in paying for a proper job that will last 10 or 15 years (or longer).

 

[Mottie]

I get your point. Those kind of cracks can often be hidden with with masonry paint alone. Yes, they often/probably will reappear but if the house sells before that happens, I don't see the point in paying for a proper job that will last 10 or 15 years (or longer).

Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. So, just give it a coat of textured masonry paint, working well into the cracks?

 

[accelerator]

Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. So, just give it a coat of textured masonry paint, working well into the cracks?

You could just try it on one crack. If it doesn't work, then you have to fill as well. Either way you need the paint.

 

[opps]

Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for. So, just give it a coat of textured masonry paint, working well into the cracks?

Those cracks look like they are only 0.1-0.2mm. Just roll or brush over them. If you are using a mini-roller, roll over each crack, wait a while (depends on the temperature), then do a wet on wet coat, it will enable you apply a thicker coat. Don't do it too soon, you may end up pulling the paint back off. In that respect, a roller over the cracks and then a brush might be better.