One of these easiest and most cost-effective methods of raising the public profile of your pool is to paint it using pool paint. Painting the surface of the pool isn’t just easy, but it’s also a good way to protect the surface of the pool. But of course, before you begin to put a coating on paint on your pool, you should not only have a good idea of how to begin, but you should also know what paints are available for you to use.

Fortunately, we can help our readers paint their pool, and we can begin by pointing them in the direction of some of the best pool paints that are currently available. Any of the following ten paints are sure to bring the appearance of your pool up to the next level and have your friends and neighbors wondering just how you did it.

Best Pool Paints

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10INSL-X Semi-Gloss Paint

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Capable of being used with either saltwater or freshwater pools, this fast-drying acrylic pool paint is suitable for just about any pool. It can be used on concrete, Gunite, Marcite and masonry pools and provides the pool with the protection it needs. This product can protect against salt, pool chemicals, and UV rays and provides a coating that will last for years. And since it comes in a variety of different colors including Ocean Blue, Black, Aquamarine, White or Royal Blue, there’s a color for just about anyone’s pool. It’s a great paint that can be applied to semi-wet surfaces easily.

9Cool Decking Pool Deck Waterproof Paint

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This product is one of the more common deck paint products selected by resorts and water theme parks, and there’s a good reason for that fact: it does an amazing job. This product is easy to use and is designed to cover approximately 150 square feet of deck. It provides a cool, heat absorbent coating that makes the walk to your pool a lot more enjoyable. And once it’s been completely dried, it creates a skid-resistant surface that meets ADA safety requirements for non-slip surfaces. It created a bond with the concrete at the molecular level, so it permanently seals the surface as well.

8In The Swim Super Epoxy-Shield

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This 2-part catalyst system is designed to be easy to use but to provide the pool owner with professional results. Once the pool and the paint have been properly prepared according to the package’s directions, this product goes on smoothly and is easy to spread. Each gallon will cover approximately 125 to 150 square feet of pool, and the product dries to a ceramic-like finish in no-time flat. Its ceramic finish is a beautiful blue color and helps to protect the pool’s surface against the elements and against stains. It provides up to 8-years of protection, so pool owners can worry about swimming in their pool and not reapplying paint.

7Olympic Zeron One-Coat Blue Ice Paint

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Many people who own concrete pools will protect their investment by applying an epoxy pool coating to it to protect it. That’s because these paint coatings not only help to smooth out the surface of concrete pools, but they add a nice color to the pool and help to protect it against weathering. And this epoxy is a great product to use by homeowners. This paint goes on smoothly and each gallon can cover approximately 125 to 150 square feet of pool per gallon. Once applied, it has a fantastic Blue Ice color to it, and will protect the pool against the elements for up to 8-years at a time.

6Zinsser Blue Concrete & Plastered Paint

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This paint is specifically designed to provide the best results possible for cement and plastered swimming pools, but can also be used on masonry and other similar surfaces. It’s ready for immediate use right out of the can, and each gallon can be used to cover approximately 75 to 150 square feet of pool, all depending on whether the surface is smooth or rough. Once applied, this product will dry to the touch in 6-hours or less, but it does usually require the application of a second coat 24-hours after the first coat’s application. It’s a great DIY project for anyone with a cement or plastered pool.

5National Pool Finishes Pool Guard EHB

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This Epoxy High Build pool paint kit is designed to be easy to use and doesn’t require any self-priming. All the user has to do is mix the paint with its Part B activator according to the package’s directions. Once it’s been properly prepared, it goes on smoothly and can be applied using either a spray, brush or roller. It’s good for a variety of pool surfaces include steel, concrete, fiberglass or Gunites pool surfaces and it’s resistant to saltwater, cracking, chipping and pool chemicals. It’s even resistant to the damaging U.V rays of the sun, which can fade inferior paint products.

4AdCoat 2-Part Epoxy Acrylic Cool Blue Paint

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Unlike some of the other pool painting products on this list, this product is designed to be used with either residential or commercial pools. This paint comes in a 1-gallon kit that’s suitable to cover up to 300-square feet. Since it’s 2-part epoxy paint, this product is capable of avoiding fading and chalking better than comparable products and can be used equally well on fiberglass or plaster as it does on Gunite or concrete. It comes in a Cool Blue color that’s pleasant to look at and is designed to be fade resistant for quite some time.

3INSL-X Black Rubber Paint

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Each gallon of this pool paint can be used to treat a pool of up to 400 square feet quite easily, so it can be used for a variety of different swimming pools or concrete ponds. This product is VOC compliant and is easy to clean up using Xylene. It’s also extremely easy to apply, and once applied, this product will resist fading due to sunlight, alkaline chemicals, and abrasions. Once it cures, this product provides a low-sheen surface and is very durable. And since it can be applied to not only concrete surfaces, but also to a number of other surfaces, it’s a good solution for many pool owners.

2Olympic Optilon Synthetic Rubber Blue Ice Paint

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This synthetic rubber base enamel is easy to apply and provides the residential user with a do-it-yourself application that can be completed with professional results. Using a paint roller and applying 2-coats of this product to a pool, each gallon will cover approximately a 250 square foot pool. Once applied, the user will be amazed at the Blue Ice color and the smoothness of the surface. By using this product, the consumer can potentially save themselves a lot of money by not having to hire a professional painter to do the job for them. This makes it an attractive and economical solution for just about any homeowner.

1HIS Coatings Blue Paint

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This quality swimming pool paint provides a nice pool coating for concrete pools and can be used on both pools that have been painted before and pools that have yet to be painted. It’s an easy-to-use formula that provides a low-luster and has a nice blue color to it that will blend in nicely with the clarity of the water. It’s easy to clean up after use and will help to smooth rough concrete surfaces. By smoothing out these surfaces, swimmers are less likely to be scratched by the concrete and can spend more of their time swimming and less time worrying about coming into contact with a rough surface.

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A Guide To Pool Paint

Before a person can take their pool to the next level by painting it, they first have to determine what’s the best pool paint for their pool. And that isn’t always very easy for a person to figure out. After all, there are dozens of different brands of paint and they’re all designed for a specific purpose. That means that the pool owner is going to have to carefully consider what their pool needs before they buy the first paint they come across.

To help all of our readers get the best paint for their pool, we’ve decided to write this guide. Within this guide, our readers will find all the information they need to make an informed decision and will also get all of the information they need to properly use their newly bought paint. Now that we’ve stated our intent, let’s get down to business and spend a little bit of time talking about pool

Before anyone can enjoy the beauty of a painted pool, they first have to determine which paint is right for their pool. Choose the wrong paint, and the pool is likely to look worse than when the person started. Below are some tips that will ensure that our readers buy the best pool paint for whatever type of pool they’re painting.

Step One: Determine The Paint Used On It

The first step to determine what paint might be the one for the pool is to check if the pool is already painted. If it is, then the pool owner is going to want to use that same type of paint. And this can be difficult. How can you determine what type of paint was used to paint the pool in the first place? One way to determine if the paint is acrylic or something else is to take a 1-inch chip paint and put it into denatured alcohol. If the chip dissolves in the alcohol, then it’s a water-based acrylic. If it doesn’t, take a different 1-inch chip and place it into a solution of 75% mineral spirits and 25% Xylol. Leave it submerged for 30-seconds, then retrieve it and rub it between your forefingers. If it dissolves, then it’s probably a rubber-base paint coating. However, if it doesn’t dissolve, then additional tests may be needed. One of those tests is playing a 1-inch chip into a solution of pure Xylol. If the paint dissolves, then it’s probably a chlorinated rubber and if it doesn’t dissolve, then it’s most likely an epoxy. Another way to determine what type of paint was used to paint the pool is to send it to a paint manufacturer for testing.

Step Two:  Determine The Type Of Paint

If the pool was never painted, then the consumer should think about whether they need an epoxy, a water-based acrylic or a premium acrylic Once upon a time, pool owners would use chlorinated rubber paints for painting their pools, but these have fallen out of fashion due to the effect they may have on the environment. Below are the most common types of paints and the pros and cons of each one that the pool owner needs to consider.

  • Epoxy Pool Paints – Since epoxy pool paints are solvent-based, they are some of the longest-lasting paints available. They can stand up to abrasion quite well, and also hold up very well to chemicals. They even resist staining. Any pool owner who paints their pool with epoxy paint can expect it to last anywhere from 8-10 years. These types of paints can be used for a variety of different pool types including gunite, unpainted concrete, fiberglass, and plaster pools. It can also be applied to pools that were previously painted with epoxy paint.
    Although this paint produces a beautiful satin finish, it does require quite a deal of work to use it. Not only does the pool have to be clean and acid-washed, but previously painted surfaces and fiberglass has to be properly sanded. The pool owner will also have to do a condensation test to ensure that no condensation is present before they can apply it. Once it’s been applied, the pool owner can expect it to take about 7-days for outdoor pools to dry and about 14-days for the paint on indoor pools to dry.
  • Water-Based Acrylic Pool Paint – Water-based acrylic paints are the fastest drying of all three of the different paint types. This product will dry on an outdoor pool in approximately 3-4 days and will dry on an indoor pool in approximately 6-7 days. This makes it a good choice for pool owners who don’t want their pools to be shut down for maintenance any longer then they need it to. Unfortunately, this short drying time also results in a shorter paint lifespan as well. Even when properly applied to a pool, water-based acrylic paints will only last 2-3 years.  Another drawback of these paints is that they can’t be used on fiberglass or gunite surfaces. However, it can be used on unpainted plaster and concrete pools and will dry to a beautiful eggshell veneer. It can also be used on pools that were previously painted with acrylic, epoxy or rubber paints.
  • Premium Acrylic Pool Paints – Premium acrylic paints are designed to be a direct replacement for the now-out-of-fashion chlorinated and synthetic rubber paints of the past. These paints are designed to have a lower amount of VOCs and to be better for the environment than those rubber paints. Being more environmentally friendly isn’t the only thing worth mentioning about these paints, however. They also have a fairly quick drying time that equates to about 5-6 days for outdoor pools and 6-7 days for indoor pools. They can also be applied to a damp surface and can be used on unpainted plaster and concrete pools. They can also be used on pools that were previously painted with rubber paints or other acrylics. These paints can’t be used on fiberglass or wood, however, so they can’t be used for painting spas and hot tubs. Once applied the pool owner can expect these paints to have a lifespan of about 4-5 years.

Step Three: Measure The Pool

The last step to painting a pool with these paints is to properly measure the pool. Once the pool has been measured, the pool owner will then be able to determine how much paint they need to buy to get the job done. Different types of paints will cover different amounts of pool space, so it’s important for the consumer to do their research.

As an example, let’s take an 800-square foot 12×24-foot pool as an example. The pool owner would need 5-gallons of acrylic water-based paint to cover it, 5-gallons of chlorinated rubber to cover it, and about 8-gallons of epoxy-based paint to cover it.