You may be thinking about applying a new coat of paint to your fibreglass pool. If you think you can apply the paint yourself, then you probably wouldn’t have to hire a professional to do it for you.
That way, you can save a lot of money. But can you really do a DIY paint job on your pool? The answer is yes, and this is how you do it.
How To Give A FibreGlass Pool A Facelift With DIY Paint Job
1. Understand What Kind Of Pool Paint You Need
The first thing you’ll need to do is find out what kind of pool paint was used in your fibreglass pool. This is because you’ll need to use the same kind of pool paint yourself.
Say a pool was painted using epoxy pool paint. In this case, only epoxy pool paint can be used to apply the fresh coat. But how do you find out what kind of pool paint was used?
- First, clean a patch of surface in your pool.
- Take acetone, rub it into a rag, and rub the rag onto the surface of your pool for thirty seconds.
- Then, remove the rag and see if the area is sticky or not. If it is sticky, then chlorinated rubber paint might have been used. But if there’s no reaction, then it was probably epoxy pool paint.
2. Preparing The Pool
Before you can actually start painting your pool, you’ll need to prepare the pool surface first. When you’ve prepared the surface of your fibreglass pool properly first, the resulting finish will be even better and longer lasting.
You should also ensure that all the water in your pool has been drained out, including any debris.
3. Fixing Cracks And Soaping The Pool
If you find any cracks in your pool, then these will need to be repaired before you can paint over it. It’s better to leave fixing cracks to the professionals, as you don’t want to make the damage worse.
Once the cracks have been fixed, you’ll need to use a soapy solution to clean the newcastle pools. This will help get rid of all kinds of body oils, residues of suntan lotions and sunscreens, and more.
After you’ve used a soapy solution to wash and scrub your pool, use fresh water to rinse the soapy water away. At this point, your pool should be free of all kinds of residues.
4. Acid Etching The Pool
At this point, you’ll need to acid-etch your pool. Usually, you would need to use a solution that was half water, and half muriatic acid. But muriatic acid doesn’t react well with fibreglass, so you can use a solution using ascorbic acid instead.
You’ll need to wear proper protective equipment while you acid etch your pool, so that the acid never comes into contact with your body.
You can buy the acid used for acid etching from your local pool supply store. If you’re not sure what kind of acid you should use, remember to ask them for their advice.
After you’ve done your acid etching, you’ll need to neutralize the solution that’s left behind using a solution of bicarbonate of soda. Then, use fresh water to rinse the area.
5. Applying Masking Tape
Ensure that there is no water left in the skimmer basket or puddles left in the pool. Then, use masking tape to tape the tile band around the pool. This will help prevent the paint from getting on top of the tiles, the treads, or the pool fittings.
Before you can paint your pool, all the surfaces need to be completely dry. Make sure you check the weather report of your area, to ensure that rain hasn’t been forecast for your painting period.
There should also be no paint flakes, dirt, leaves or other kinds of debris on the pool surface. It needs to be thoroughly cleaned.
Note that you’ll need at least four days to paint your pool, so the weather should be good for at least four days. In addition to this, you’ll need another week of dry weather to cure the paint.
6. Applying The First Coat
Now, you’re finally ready to paint your pool. Say you’re using epoxy paint. Then, you’ll need to mix the paint with the hardener and leave it for around ten minutes. Then, follow the instructions on the paint can, to apply it.
The kind of preparation you need to paint your pool will depend on the surface of your pool, and you can get help from your local pool supply store regarding the mixture.
Otherwise, you can also visit the website of the pool paint manufacturer, and follow the instructions that they provide, perfectly.
Try to apply the first coat of paint within the first day itself. This is because after you’ve applied the paint, you’ll need to let the paint cure for at least twenty-four hours.
7. Applying The Second Coat
Once twenty-four hours have lapsed, it’s time to apply your second coat of paint. Say you don’t have time to apply the second coat of paint, and need to delay the process.
In this case, you’ll need to abrade the surface of your pool till it’s dry and dull again before you can apply the second coat of paint. With this, you’ve successfully painted your pool.
But you’ll still need to wait before you can fill the pool up with water again. The coating should be left to dry for a week before you refill the pool with water. Should the coating not get enough time to dry properly, then the colour of the pool could get damaged.
Conclusion
Painting your fibreglass pool by yourself can seem like an impossible task, but it’s more doable than you think.
What you should be especially careful of, is what kind of pool paint you’re using. The pool paint you use should be of the same kind as the paint that was previously used on the pool.
It can take you roughly one and a half weeks to paint your pool. This guide details how you can repaint your pool, and give your pool that fresh ‘new pool’ look.
