How to Remove My Stucco Faux Finish

Remove all furnishings from the room. Cover all light fixtures with plastic. Unscrew all outlet covers, and place the covers in a bucket with screws. Cover the entire floor with plastic tarps or drop cloths. Close all air vents.

Use a metal putty knife or chisel, and chip away any sharp peaks or points of plaster. Hold the chisel against the stucco plaster, and hit the top of the chisel with a hammer if the plaster is extremely hard. Many faux-finish techniques use joint compound to create a stucco look, which is extremely soft.

Put on protective eye wear and a mask to prevent breathing in dust. Attach 40 grit sand paper to a sanding block or hand sander. Use a lower grit sandpaper if possible. Sand away as much of the stucco surface as possible. Change the sandpaper as often as needed.

Wipe the surface with a damp towel to remove all dust created from sanding. Inspect the surface closely, and decide if sanding may remove any more of the texture. Aim for as smooth a surface as possible.

Open a bucket of joint compound. Apply the plaster to a drywall trowel using a putty knife. Hold the edge of the drywall trowel against the surface, and skim on the plaster, filling in any holes created by the stucco. The method is similar to buttering toast. Allow the skim layer to dry, and sand with fine-grit sanding paper. Continue to skim and fill in texture, and sand in between layers until the surface is smooth.