Painting Your Swimming Pool

Painting Your Swimming Pool


Many people will expect that they have to have a professional to repaint their swimming pool. With the correct preparation it is possible to do the whole thing by yourself. Crockers will help you through the steps and will provide you with adequate instructions on what to do to get the maximum life from the new pool coating.

There are two types of pool paints. One is a Chlorinated Rubber and the other an Epoxy 2 pack pool paint. It is first important to ascertain what the existing surface is e.g it could be prepainted with one of these, or it could be an old marblesheen or old cement render, or it could be a brand new render. It could even be an old fibreglass pool. All of these pools can be recoated but a few steps are needed first.

If your pool has been painted before then you will need to use the same product, be it either Clorinated Rubber or Epoxy. If you do not know then you need to test the surface by using an acetone to rub the dry old paint surface. If some of the coat colour is removed then it is a Chlorinated Rubber, if no colour comes off onto your cloth then it is an epoxy.

Each pool surface has specified preparation steps. An example would be first cleaning the pool with a concentrated pool wash to remove all sunscreen and body fat build up that may embed itself onto the walls and bottom of the pool over the years. You then may need to acid wash it or angle grind the surface to thoroughly abrade it. This step is important particularly if it is an old epoxy coat. By abrading it properly the new coating will have the best chance of adhering and hence will carry it's full life-normally between 8-10 years for epoxy.

Other important things to be aware of is the weather forecast. You must not paint if rain is due within the 48hrs after you paint the first coat. It's also important that the pool surface is thoroughly dry before application and that you have done your first coat by about 11am. This gives the surface the best drying hours of the day. It's often a good idea to cover the pool with a tarpaulin in case a dew settles over night. You must also paint the second coat within 36 hours so that the epoxy coat is still soft enough to accept the second coat.

There are some great colours that you can use. You might like to choose a pale blue, mid blue, bright blue or navy. The options are up to you.

With the correct preparation, and a dry weekend, you could have you tired old pool surface recoated. You will however need to leave it a week or so before you can fill it up with water.

We can also provide you with information on how to then look after your pool. By keeping the acidity at the correct levels and by doing things like brushing down the walls, you can ensure you get the maximum life of your pool coating.

Visit our website and go to the swimming pool page and you be able to get all of the info you need. You can also download a colour chart to choose your colours.

Give us a call to discuss if you feel the need.