Making Stucco Walls with Gary Hoover

Gary Hoover has many structures set in the Southwest part of the United States, so he needed to come up with a way of making stucco walls for his model railroad. The stucco must be applied to a braced structure or else the spackling will warp the wood. A couple of quarter inch square braces do the trick. Then it’s onto applying the spackling compound with a spatula. This is done very similarly to how he makes plowed fields, though the compound does not need to be as thick.

To create the stucco effect he uses a dry fingertip. Hoover lightly dabbs his finger across the still wet spackling paste. The harder he presses down with his finger, the more the paste will pull up. If the paste is pulling up more than wanted, you can wet your fingertip to create a flatter effect. The area already completed can be gone over again with a wet fingertip to smooth things out a bit. An inexpensive paintbrush can also be used to create this stucco effect by dabbing with the bristles down.

Once the spackling is dry, it’s onto applying color. Hoover uses Floquil oil-based paint in antique white or earth. Oil based paints are used because they dry down perfectly flat, which is more realistic. Hoover applies a full coat with a brush. Lightly sanding over the top of the surface will remove tiny bits of paint, so that some white spackling comes through. Hoover goes on to discuss with Allen other interesting effects that can be made such as the look of stucco peeling off a brick wall. Watch the full video to learn more.