When and how to resurface your pool with new paint
A fresh coat of paint is one of the best ways to give your home an instant facelift… and your swimming pool is no different. And just like the paint inside or on the exterior of your home, the paint on your pool surface needs attention from time to time. Fortunately, you may only need to deal with this every ten years, if you use the right product and the right people for the job.
How do I know it’s time to resurface my pool?
There are three main clues that will tell you it’s time to repaint:
- Fading
No matter what, pool paint will eventually start to fade. You can stretch the time between painting, however, by doing some of the same prep work you would if you were getting ready to paint. Cleaning the painted surface with a light acid wash mixture will remove stubborn dirt and some of the chalking, helping to brighten up the finish.
- Chalking
If your pool finish looks dull and hazy – or actually leaves a powdery residue on your hands if your rub it – it’s probably time to repaint. After the new paint is applied, make sure you have the proper water chemistry and balance to avoid a chalking problem in the future.
- Bubbling
Like any other kind of paint project, bubbles and blisters are almost always a result of something overlooked in the preparation stage. With pools especially, the surface to be painted must be clean and dry, and it can’t be too warm outside when applying the paint. If you have bubbles, the surface must be repainted – but the good news is, if it’s done under the right conditions you won’t have this issue again.
What’s involved in painting a swimming pool?
- Pick your paint. The first step is to determine the type of paint to use. The general types are chlorinated rubber, epoxy – and a third product we feel works best – two coats of moisture-cured urethane. This will not fade, and it works very well in high humidity. It also requires only one day of drying before you can fill your fill back up again.
- Drain (and do a clean sweep). Once the paint has been chosen, the next step is to drain all of the water, and give the pool an overall cleaning to remove dirt and debris.
- Patch. If there are any cracks or holes, this is the point in the process in which they should be patched.
- Deep clean. Power washing is very effective at this stage – and when used with an acid wash (as mentioned above), you will be sure to get rid of stubborn build up before covering it up again. Once the pool has been power washed, it will need a final good rinse before pumping out any remaining water.
- Dry. With the water out and the surface patched and cleaned, the pool will need amply time to dry out before painting. This is typically about 3 to 5 days, unless you’ve used moisture-cured urethane, in which case it’s only about a day.
- Paint. Once the surfaces are clean and dry, the paint can be applied. The pros will use an extension roller to cover the lion’s share of the pool, then cut in with a brush around the trim, drains and fixtures.
- Dry again. You will typically need another 3 to 5 days drying time (1 day for moisture-cured urethane) before you can refill the pool with water.
One of our recent pool resurfacing projects (before and after) Is it time to paint your pool?
