Smooth Stucco Finish Exterior . This cost is much higher than other traditional stucco finishes mainly due to the high labor costs. Using a high grit sanding paper, sand down the rough stucco to as smooth as possible. Shady Canyon, CA Santa Barbara smooth finish Butter yellow, white trim from www.pinterest.com 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. This house in colorado uses stucco for most of the exterior walls, as well as a solid wall that defines the front of the property. This cost is much higher than other traditional stucco finishes mainly due to the high labor costs.