I have an in-ground pool at a house I've been renting for a number of years. I drained it a few years ago and began a process of re-surfacing and re-painting it. A few years prior, I had drained and re-painted it. Perhaps due to an excessive use of chemicals, I noticed some cloudiness in the water from the old "plaster" dissolving into the pool water. So I decided to resurface it. We rented a machine to remove some of the plaster from the floor and walls of the pool. It's ready to be resurfaced and painted. Maybe I should have just drained the pool and left it the way it was, but I felt an obligation to resurface it. Also, I've rented the house for nearly 10 years and don't have any plans to move at the current time. My question is this: If I were to re-plaster (is that the name of the material used for common, in-ground pools, "plaster"?) and paint the pool with the special paint required for a swimming pool, is there any reason why I couldn't leave the pool unfilled with water? The average, year-round temperature where I live is about 76 degrees. One of the reasons why I began the resurfacing was because I was told that if I just drained it, the intense sun would damage the surface of the pool [thinking back now, the pool was already damaged, so it wouldn't have made any difference! - if the claim was true.] CAN I RESURFACE AND PAINT THE POOL AND LEAVE IT UNFILLED WITH WATER?
Given that it sounds like you've already at least partially removed the existing plaster:
OK, so first: If you get the surface replastered, you need to fill and maintain it for *at least* the first 30 days while it does the initial cure. Then maybe you can drain it and paint it. But...
Second: Why paint it if you just had it resurfaced? Painting is usually done as a cheap method to carry over some old plaster that's structurally sound but has aesthetic issues. As mentioned, the paint only lasts a year or two max. That new plaster should last at least a decade. So why paint over it?
Third: Leaving the pool unfilled will absolutely deteriorate the plaster faster. Pool plaster is formulated to be underwater and have constant hydration. I have no idea if painting the surface would help protect it. And, those swimming pool paints are *also* formulated to be underwater and may not hold up well to the open elements...
Fourth: When you say you're renting this property, and not planning on moving, that makes it sound like you're renting this as a tenant and not a landlord? If so, why are *you* investing *your* money into the landlord's property? I would not be touching any of this unless the landlord was crediting my expenditures as substitute for rent.
Fifth: If you *are* the landlord, I would think you better fill that pool quick before someone has an "accident" falling into it...
My recommendations:
* Just leave it alone for as long as you are not going to fill it. Spending money to resurface it, just to leave it dry, is a waste. Like buying a car just to never drive it. (And not one of those collector cars; I'm talking a Corolla here.)
* When you're ready to have it filled, then get it resurfaced with plaster and don't put any paint on. There is zero reason to paint new plaster.
* And for the love of everything holy, do not invest your own money into someone else's property.
If you had not touched the old existing plaster, then maybe painting it would have made sense.