Is your swimming pool looking tired and dated? Perhaps the surface has become dull, chalky, worn or blistered and is clouding the water. Perhaps it’s time to renovate your pool surface but don’t know where to start. Have you considered painting the interior of the pool? Read our guide to learn how to paint your swimming pool.
Inground concrete swimming pools can have a range of surface finishes including tiles, pebble aggregate, plaster, or paint. Eventually all pool surfaces become old, worn and look dated. When it comes to renovating your pool you have many options including painting the pool surface. Painting is not only the simplest, fastest and cheapest way to rejuvenate your pool but it can make your pool look great and you can do it yourself saving even more money.
Table of Contents
Do You Need to Paint Your Swimming Pool
If you have a pool with a painted surface you will eventually need to repaint the pool as paint fades and wears out over time.
However, instead of painting you have the option to resurface the pool with plaster, pebble aggregate, tiles or fibreglass.
How do you know when to paint the pool?
It’s time to paint the pool when:
- The paint has faded and looks discolored
- The surface has stains you cannot brush away
- The paint is chalky and rubs away.
- The paint has blistered, cracked, bubbled or whitened.
Is painting a pool a good idea?
I have been asked many times whether painting a pool is a good idea or not. If you are renovating your house and pool to sell painting can be a smart option as your pool will look great but you don’t have to spend much money. If your pool surface is already painted and you were happy with it but now has faded then go ahead and repaint. However, if you are not repainting it yourself then rather than spend money on labor to paint the pool consider spending the cost of the labor on plastering or aggregating the pool surface.
Read our article on How to Prepare Your Pool to Sell the House
Painting vs Resurfacing Your Pool
If you are keeping your home for the longer term I recommend plastering or pebble aggregate as a better option.
The reason is that if are going to empty the pool, clean the old surface, resurface, refill the pool and balance chemicals, you may as well invest some more money and get a surface that will last longer. If you paint the pool you will need to renovate it two or three times more than if you get plaster or pebble aggregate. Over 20 years the cost of painting the pool three times will be more expensive than having a plaster or pebble aggregate finish.
Here’s a comparison of the main options.
Paint
Painting is the cheapest option but takes 2 days to paint and another 3 to 7 days for drying and curing before you can refill the pool. Wait a few days before adding pool chemicals.
Plaster or Pebble Aggregate
On the first day they remove the old surface from the pool. The next morning they re-plaster or aggregate the pool surface in a few hours. As soon as the new surface is finished they fill the pool with water as the plaster or aggregate cures underwater.
Salt cannot be added to new plaster pools until the excess calcium compounds in the plaster have leached out and the pH has stabilized. This period varies depending on the product but is typically at least 3 months. During this period, manually sanitize the pool with liquid or granular chlorine.
What kind of paint do you use for a swimming pool?
You must use proper pool paint to paint the inside surface of your pool as the paint has been specially formulated resist chlorine and to last underwater. Normal house paint will not work as swimming pool paint.
There are only two types of paint for swimming pools – Acrylic and Epoxy.
This is similar to painting a house as you have a choice of acrylic or oil-based paint.
Chlorinated rubber-based paints were used in the past but are not longer manufactured due to health and environmental concerns. The rubber-based paints contained PCBs which are dangerous chemicals proven to cause cancer and many other illnesses.
Acrylic Pool Paint
Advantages
- Easy to apply to pool surfaces
- No mixing required
- Apply to concrete, plaster or acrylic paint
- Easy to clean up as it washes out in water
- Less expensive than Epoxy paint
- Large range of colors
- Dries & cures quicker than epoxy paint
Disadvantages
- Only lasts 2 to 5 years
- Doesn’t cover stains or marks
- Not good for rough surfaces
- Requires primer
- Requires multiple coats
- Cannot paint fibreglass or epoxy paint
Epoxy Pool Paint
Advantages
- Thicker paint than acrylic
- More durable than acrylic
- Can hide minor imperfections in pool surface
- Can paint onto fibreglass, epoxy paint, plaster, concrete
- No primer required
- More glossy & slippery surface
- Last 5 to 10 years
Disadvantages
- Longer to dry & cure
- Harder to apply than acrylic paint
- Need to mix together before application
- Messy & difficult to clean up
- Expensive
How to paint an inground swimming pool
Prepare the Pool Surface
Determine what material or type of paint covers the current pool surface.
Note: The pool surface must be cleaned and any cracks or other problems remedied before the surface is painted. Paint will not hide any cracks, scars, pitting, spots or marks in the surface. Usually a pool needs to sandblasted or grinded smooth to remove all imperfections. Acid etch the pool surface to ensure good paint adhesion. Rinse away the acid, neutralize with sodium hydroxide solution and rinse again.
Completely dry the pool surface before applying epoxy paint to the surface.
Apply acrylic (water-based) paint to dry or slightly damp pool surfaces.
Rubber-based Paint
If your pool has been previously painted with rubber-based paint this needs to be removed with sandblasting or grinding. You cannot apply acrylic or epoxy paint over rubber-based paints.
Acrylic Paint
If your pool has been previously painted with acrylic paint you can paint over the surface with acrylic paint again. You cannot paint epoxy paint over acrylic paint without removing the old paint first.
Epoxy Paint
If your pool has been previously painted with epoxy paint simply paint over the surface with epoxy paint again. You cannot apply acrylic paint over epoxy paint without removing the old paint first.
Bare Concrete or Gunite
Apply either acrylic or epoxy paint over bare concrete. The concrete must be finished smooth with no imperfections as painting will not hide any imperfections.
Plaster
Apply either acrylic or epoxy paint over plaster. Ensure the old plaster surface is solid and acid wash it to remove any impurities. Any imperfections in the surface must be fixed as painting will not hide any imperfections.
Fibreglass
Only apply epoxy paint over fibreglass. Ensure the old surface is solid and free of any imperfections.
How much does it cost to paint an inground pool?
Painting your pool with acrylic paint is the least expensive of all resurfacing options but it only lasts 2 to 5 years on average before you would need to repaint. Epoxy paint is more expensive but will last longer up to 8 or 10 years depending on pool usage. The average cost of the paint, including primer, will be from $600 to $1200 depending on the size of the pool. If you hire someone to paint the pool add on the cost of the contract labor.
Paint the Pool Surface
It’s recommended to plan painting when there is a forecast of fine weather for at least 2 or 3 days. The best time of year is spring or fall as it’s not too hot or too cold.
When painting a pool start painting in the deep end with the back and side walls, then paint the bottom working backwards up the pool into the shallow end. Paint the shallow end walls and finally the bottom of the shallow end working your way up the steps and out of the pool.
Always follow the instructions on the paint product you are using as methods vary slightly among manufacturers.
Day 1: Start painting early in the morning so that the paint has all day to dry.
Day 2: Apply the second coat of paint in the morning so the paint can dry. It’s recommended to add a small amount of sand to the paint on the steps to ensure the steps are not slippery.
Allow 3 to 7 days for the pool paint to cure before filling the pool.
Note: Painting a swimming pool is not a small job and requires someone with lots of home maintenance experience. If you are not a DIY person and have no painting experience please call in contractors for a quote. I only recommend homeowners paint their own pool when they are competent DIY persons with painting experience. And the pool surface is already in good shape not requiring to be sandblasted or grinded.
Conclusion
If your pool is already painted and you have been previously satisfied with the paint finish then repainting is a good option when you have a limited budget. If your pool is plastered and you want to rejuvenate it for the least amount of money, painting is a great option.
However, most pool experts will recommend to resurface the pool with a longer lasting and more durable surface such as pebble aggregate or plaster. This is a more expensive option up front but will become the best value option in the medium to long term. Resurfacing with plaster or aggregate every 20 years is better than painting every 4 to 6 years.