Specialists confirm that it was up till the middle of the nineteenth century, stucco consisted primarily of hydrated or slaked lime, water and sand, with straw or animal hair included as a binder. While, natural cements were frequently used in stucco composition. After some time professional contractors noticed that with the addition of cement, traditional stucco became even more versatile and durable. With the improved qualities stucco was no longer used just as a coating for a substantial material like masonry or log. Stucco could now be applied over wood or metal lath attached to a light wood frame. Thanks to the increased strength, traditional stucco ceased to be just a veneer and became a more integral part of the building structure.

Generally, stucco composition depended on local custom and available materials. Stucco often contained substantial amounts of mud or clay, marble or brick dust, or even sawdust, and an array of additives ranging from animal blood or urine, to eggs, keratin, varnish, wheat paste, sugar, salt, linseed oil, wine, beer, or rye whiskey. All of these additions were made to contribute to the strength and durability of the stucco. Nowadays, gypsum has to a great extent replaced lime. It’s preferred because it hardens faster and has less shrinkage than lime which is generally used only in the finish coat for contemporary stucco work.

No wonder that the peculiarities of stucco composition influenced the techniques of its application. In fact, stucco has traditionally been applied as a multiple-layer process, sometimes consisting of two coats, but more commonly of three. Up until the late nineteenth century, the first and the second coats were of much the same composition, generally consisting of lime, or natural cement, sand, perhaps clay, and one or more of the previously mentioned additives. While straw or animal hair was usually added to the first coat as a binder, the third finishing coat of traditional stucco, consisted primarily of a very fine mesh grade of lime and sand, and sometimes color pigment.

Particularly it was only until the early twentieth century when a variety of novelty textures were introduced, before that the last coat of stucco was commonly given a smooth finish, and then scored or lined. The illusion of masonry joints was sometimes enhanced by a thin line of white lime putty, graphite, or some other pigment.