Home Maintenance | Outdoors

Painting a Swimming Pool: The Essentials

Any kind of painting demands a certain order of steps, all of which are required in order for the painting process to be completed in a quality and eye pleasing manner. The same applies when swimming pools are concerned. What is more, this goes both for first time painting, as well as all repainting jobs. If you want to have everything under control, here are all the basics you need to cover to successfully complete this project.

Preparatory Work

As it is the case with any serious work, the preparatory phase is the most important one. Naturally, first you need to completely drain the pool. Secondly, clean the bottom and the walls of any debris and dirt stains. The third step is to completely peel off any traces of the old paint. This is extremely important for application of new paint. Next, use caulk to repair all the cracks in the walls and the bottom and, lastly, scrub the pool thoroughly, rinse it and leave it to dry for a few days before you apply new layer of paint.17827447772_112b26fb8d_z(1)

Choice of Paint

Basically, if this is the first paint that is to be applied to your swimming pool, you have three choices. Epoxy paint would be the most expensive and the most durable one. It is highly resistant and it can last up to ten years. Next, a chlorinated rubber-based paint is less pricey and less durable. The repainting will have to be done in four to five years. Lastly, water-based acrylic paint, the cheapest one, would last up to three years. Whichever you choose, the best recipe is to go for the best quality pool paint in any of the types.

Paint Choice in Case of Repainting

This choice is rather narrowed compared to the initial painting. The thing is, when you are repainting the pool you will have to go with the same type of paint you used initially. With one exception, water-based acrylic paint can be applied to any kind of surface, which makes it the most universal one. However, if you used it already you can only continue using it.

Painting Procedure

First of all, timing is of the essence. Choosing an interval of sunny and windless weather is the perfect corner stone for the success of your painting work. Next, start from the deepest part of the pool and move gradually towards the shallowest one. If the budget allows it, apply more than one layer of paint to both walls and bottom. Leave several hours between each layer for the previous one to dry out completely. When the painting is done, leave the pool to dry for five days in case of epoxy and chlorinated rubber-based paint and three days in case of a water-based acrylic one.17209897553_9559cce990_z

Additional Actions

Before you refill your pool make sure you checked all drainage and filtering systems for accidental clogging that may have happened during the painting process stages. You can clean the filtering system yourself, but, if you have any doubts, calling a professional would be the smartest move.

As you can see, all phases of the painting process are crucially important for everything to go smoothly, as well as for you to be long term pleased. Therefore, make sure you follow everything to detail and enjoy your pool for years to come without any serious maintenance required.

 

Article written by Lillian Connors. If one thing is true about Lillian Connors, her mind is utterly curious. That’s why she can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of home improvement projects and spread the word about them. As the Co-Editor at SmoothDecorator, she cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit and what we eat, but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on. You can check her out on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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