Revitalizing an aging automatic pool cover

[CuriousMark]

I have a coverstar automatic pool cover that I should have maintained better. It is showing its age and is fading from deep blue toward light blue in a patchy way. The fading is worst on the end of the pool that gets no afternoon shade and is closer to the vault and is therefore more tightly wound when open. Looking closely I can see that a lot of the color loss is due to the white threads of the internal cover fabric beginning to be exposed. The cover appears to be fabric impregnated with rubber or possibly PVC, I am not sure what the plastic material is.



So far what I did to help it was to carefully clean it with a power washer and simple green detergent. I succeeded in getting three years worth of accumulated brown gunk (dust, dirt, pollen, bird droppings, etc) off of it and now looks much better. Clearly, this should have been done much more often. Looking closely at it and seeing those threads I am sure that it is probably in need of protection from the sun.

I am looking for suggestions how best to revitalize the cover to extend its life and improve its looks. I would love to hear from anyone with ideas or experience.

Here are some options I am considering, but I don't know if they are good ideas or not.

- Use dark blue spray paint designed for use on plastic outdoor furniture and paint the whole cover. This should cover the exposed threads and protect them from sun rot. It should even out the color and make it a nice deep blue again. I don't know if it will be flexible enough to roll up well without cracking or peeling. Does this seem like a good idea? Would a liquid paint be better or cheaper?

- Get good car wax, preferrably with blue tinting in it and wax the whole cover. This make it repel water better again but probably won't protect it from the suns rays as well as painting.

- If I paint it, should I then wax it?

Are there other better ideas out there?

Thanks in advance.

 

[swimcmp]

Mark I hate to be a bearer of bad news but the first no-no of cover care is don't use a power washer to clean it. You seperate the thread from the coating. Get a good quality cover cleaner and use a 24" push broom, soft bristle, to scrub the dirt loose. Do not apply car wax. You have probably reached the end of the servicable life if the threads are starting to show. Replace it with a light color cover, we do alot of auto covers and have learned to stay away from dark colors. They attract sun and hold heat which seems to cause them to age faster. We install mostly light gray, tan and the lightest blue, these seem to last the best for us.