I bought my home 3 years ago and the pool is showing signs of wear and tear. The previous owner was a DIYer that did things as cheaply as possible from what I can tell. As far as I can tell, the pool is gunite and was finished with what looks like Leslie's white rubber paint then a layer of acrylic paint on top of that. It's starting to chip and flake off all over, which isn't surprising given the 2-year service life. I've gotten quotes from multiple pool contractors to refinish it properly with NPT mini pebble, but the cost is out of reach right now. Until we can save up enough to do it right, could I apply a new coat of acrylic paint? Or do I need to power wash both layers off and paint two fresh coats of acrylic, rubber, or epoxy paint?
Refinishing Pool Bottom
- Thread starter jkmilli
- Start date
Hi and welcome to TFP! Lets see what we can do to get you fixed up until your wallet can handle the new plaster.
First thing I want to ask you is if you are losing any water. Well more than from normal evaporation that is. If you have an auto-fill you need to turn it off so you can find out.
If you are not losing any water then you can leave the pool like it is. Yeah it does not look the best but it still serves its purpose. Now if you care about about how it looks then you can take a good pressure washer to it and remove the loose stuff and repaint it. If you do this use GREAT care where the cement shell is showing through so you don't etch it.
First thing I want to ask you is if you are losing any water. Well more than from normal evaporation that is. If you have an auto-fill you need to turn it off so you can find out.
If you are not losing any water then you can leave the pool like it is. Yeah it does not look the best but it still serves its purpose. Now if you care about about how it looks then you can take a good pressure washer to it and remove the loose stuff and repaint it. If you do this use GREAT care where the cement shell is showing through so you don't etch it.
What would you consider a “normal” amount of water loss to evaporation? The auto fill is on an irrigation timer, and I change the duration throughout the year - up to around 25 minutes in the peak of summer. This time of year it’s usually about 5 minutes, but with all the rain we’ve been getting I usually have to drain rather than fill it.
Here is what we do:
www.troublefreepool.com
You will need to turn off the auto fill while you do this test.
Bucket Test
This is a simple method of leak detection is done by marking water levels on … Read more…
www.troublefreepool.com
You will need to turn off the auto fill while you do this test.
Update - I spoke with the original pool builder and he told me the pool was finished with hydrazzo and then the old owner painted over top of that. The hydrazzo looks like it's in good condition. What's the best way to remove the layers of paint on top and restore the hydrazzo finish?