Painting Thermoplastic steps

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glenwill

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Jun 27, 2009
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Warrington, PA
My pool has white Pacific thermoplastic steps and Swim n' Lounge. Both frequently get stained and are a pain to clean. In addition, we're about to replace our liner, and are planning on going with a much darker liner.

This has gotten my wife asking if we could paint the steps, and use a darker color. I am worried about eventual peeling.

Does anyone here have experience painting thermoplastic steps in a pool? Did it work out well?

What paints work well, if any? Doheny's lists Acrylic, Epoxy and Rubber based paints.

Glen
 
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Someone asked a similar question recently, and if I recall correctly, the suggestion was made about using something suitable for painting fiberglass boats. That may be somewhere to start, but hopefully someone else will chime in with some more specific help.
 
I am not familiar with anyone painting their stairs. Are you sure they are plastic? They might be fiberglass. Look in to getting a liner that is installed over your steps. I don't know if liner over stairs can be done retroactively but I've seen quite a few new pools installed with the liner over the stairs and it is nice.
 
pooldv said:
I am not familiar with anyone painting their stairs. Are you sure they are plastic? They might be fiberglass. Look in to getting a liner that is installed over your steps. I don't know if liner over stairs can be done retroactively but I've seen quite a few new pools installed with the liner over the stairs and it is nice.
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Thanks. They are definitely pastic. These are my steps:
Thermoplastic - Pacific Pools | In Ground Pools

I don't think they could be converted to liner overlay. They have a textured pattern in the step treads.

Glen
 
People do it all the time on boats around here. We use copper-based paints for the hull below the water -- which is absolutely not environmentally friendly or suitable for pools!! And people use fiberglass paints for the hulls above the waterline all the time. Check out marine suppliers like Defender or West Marine.
 

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glenwill said:
No, I have not done it yet. We were just talking about it again last weekend, but haven't decided whether to try it.
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glenwill, Did you ever get around to painting your pool steps? I’m in the same predicament as you were (new liner is on order, thermoplastic steps that I want to paint dark blue).

If so, What paint or epoxy did you use? Any help would be appreciated.
 
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you use epoxy paint for boats its a gelcoat 2 part system. you use acetone to break the surface wax and soften the plastic so you can get the topcoat to bite. Guys who do bathtub refinishing have the right stuff and would cost a couple hundred if you want it done instead of DIY. make sure to do the step trim and covers so they arent white also
 
jimmythegreek said:
you use epoxy paint for boats its a gelcoat 2 part system. you use acetone to break the surface wax and soften the plastic so you can get the topcoat to bite. Guys who do bathtub refinishing have the right stuff and would cost a couple hundred if you want it done instead of DIY. make sure to do the step trim and covers so they arent white also
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The bathtub guys product fails in UV.

I have a contractor that does boats, corvettes and pool steps.. awesome results!
 
After using one of the DIY kits that Pool Step Specialists offer to recoat/paint your pool stairs, my neighbour and I are very pleased. They asked for photos of his tread pattern so they could ensure they were thermoplastic vs. fiberglass stairs, as they said their coatings are specific for the different types of materials swimming pool stairs are made of. As mentioned in previous thread, beware of using any coatings used mainly indoors or on boat bottoms, as they don't have UV inhibitors (as they don't see much direct sunlight), so those coatings can yellow in a short period of time. Attached is photo of my Foxx thermoplastic. We were told temperature application was important, so we heated the area prior to painting.99811
 

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