The Pool Painting Process

Every job at Pool Plus Painting starts with a full drain and a high pressure blast at 3600psi, stripping old paint, calcium and mineral deposits from the plaster. This doesn’t just clean the surface — it etches the plaster, opening its pores so the epoxy pool paint or chlorinated rubber coating has a proper mechanical key to bond to. It’s one of the most important steps in the pool painting process: skip it, and even premium paint will bubble, lift or peel within a year or two. For commercial pools, this stage also helps us decide whether a repaint or a full pool restoration is the better fit as part of an ongoing commercial property maintenance plan.

Once blasted and rinsed, we tap-test the entire shell — walls, floor, steps, benches and around fittings — to find hollow or decayed plaster that won’t hold paint long-term. Any compromised areas are marked and removed back to sound material, since painting over them only hides the problem until it blisters through later. This inspection also confirms whether the surface suits epoxy pool paint or a chlorinated rubber coating, particularly for older concrete pools or commercial pools with an existing chlorinated rubber finish. For commercial clients, we document findings as part of the broader commercial pool painting and property maintenance process.

Cracks, holes and hollows are then patched with two-part epoxy concrete repair products built for swimming pool conditions — able to handle constant wet/dry cycling and chemical exposure without failing again. We focus on structural details like step edges, bench seats, drains and fittings, the spots most prone to cracking. Repairs are sanded flush once cured, so the finished coat — Luxapool epoxy or chlorinated rubber — looks seamless. This is also a good point to address poolside paving paint touch-ups around pool coping or pool pavers, so the whole pool area gets a consistent, refreshed pool finish. Getting the concrete repair right here is what separates an eight-to-ten-year paint job from one that needs redoing in a couple of seasons.

Once repairs have cured, we assess how porous the plaster is before painting begins. Older or heavily-repaired pools often absorb far more paint than a smooth, sound shell would, leading to patchy coverage or premature wear if colour coats go straight on. In these cases, we apply a Luxapool primer sealer as a first coat, sealing the plaster’s pores and giving the epoxy pool paint or chlorinated rubber coating a uniform, stable base to bond to. Skipping this step on a porous surface is one of the most common reasons a pool paint job uses more paint than expected or wears unevenly within the first year. For commercial pools with older or heavily-patched shells, priming is standard practice as part of our commercial pool painting process, ensuring consistent results before final colour coats go on.

With the primer cured, we apply the colour coats — the stage where your pool finally gets its finish. Luxapool epoxy pool paint and chlorinated rubber coating are both applied by brush and roller rather than spray, giving better control over film thickness and a more even bond to the plaster. We apply two to three coats depending on the product and surface condition, with correct recoat times between each to allow proper cross-linking of the epoxy. Rushing this stage — applying coats too close together or too thin — is a common cause of early flaking, so we work to the coverage rates Colormaker specifies for each pool paint system, whether it’s a residential backyard pool or a large commercial pool painting job.

Once the final coat is on, the pool needs time to cure properly before it can be refilled. Epoxy coatings typically need several days of cure time depending on temperature and humidity, and refilling too early can trap moisture beneath the coating or soften the finish before it’s fully hardened. We factor curing time into every project schedule so the pool painthas the best chance of reaching its full 8–10 year lifespan, rather than being compromised on day one. For commercial pools, we coordinate cure timing around reopening dates as part of the broader commercial property maintenanceschedule, so there’s no guesswork for facility managers.