Repainting pool- multiple previous coats!

[eyes_have_miles]

Hi all,
This is my first post. I have an old in-ground concrete pool at the house I have owned for two years. I'm not sure how old the pool is but the house is 50 years old and I suspect that the pool is the same age, give or take. The paint is beginning to chip at the bottom of the pool and there is bubbling of the paint above the water level. From the chips and pitted areas, I can tell that there are multiple layers of paint and this is confirmed by the pool company (very reputable) who has serviced the pool for twenty years.

My questions are:
1. Do I need to strip ALL the paint off before painting? If so, sandblast, commercial waterblast, acid?
2. Recommendations for pool paint? I want to do it properly so that I'm not painting the pool every few years.
3. Is there any or all of this process that I can do myself that will save me money or am I better off to the professionals (the problem is that my pool company does not service concrete pools anymore and there are very few in my area that do).

Thanks in advance for your help on this. Kind regards, EHM

[Watermom]

I can't answer your question regarding painting, but hopefully someone will be along shortly who can. I just wanted to pop in and say hi and welcome to the forum! Glad you found us!

[waterbear]

Hi all,
This is my first post. I have an old in-ground concrete pool at the house I have owned for two years. I'm not sure how old the pool is but the house is 50 years old and I suspect that the pool is the same age, give or take. The paint is beginning to chip at the bottom of the pool and there is bubbling of the paint above the water level. From the chips and pitted areas, I can tell that there are multiple layers of paint and this is confirmed by the pool company (very reputable) who has serviced the pool for twenty years.

My questions are:
1. Do I need to strip ALL the paint off before painting? If so, sandblast, commercial waterblast, acid?
2. Recommendations for pool paint? I want to do it properly so that I'm not painting the pool every few years.
3. Is there any or all of this process that I can do myself that will save me money or am I better off to the professionals (the problem is that my pool company does not service concrete pools anymore and there are very few in my area that do).

Thanks in advance for your help on this. Kind regards, EHM

Not an expert on painting but know a few things:
1. yes, possibly all of the above, depends on the state of the paint and underlying plaster. If the plaster is really bad it might be in your interest to just re-plaster. With proper care it will last a LOT longer than a coat of paint AND the painting will not be needed as long as you keep tabs on your water balance! At worst you might have to acid wash every few years but you can expect the surface to last a good 20 years or longer with proper care. Some of the new plaster (marcite) and exposed aggregate finishes are durable and beautiful!
2. Epoxy is the longest lasting and the hardest to properly apply. You can expect a few years (3) out of a good epoxy, properly applied. Poorly applied you are lucky to have it last a swim season. Other paints expect to repaint every year or two.
3. No reason you could not do a lot of it yourself, armed with the right knowledge beforehand, the proper tools, and the time BUT, IMHO, this is a job best left to professionals if there is not a good plaster foundation for the paint. I would strongly suggest looking into re-plastering if the pool has not been plastered in the last 10-20 years, which I suspect it has not.

You mention that there are not many people servicing plaster pools in your area. Are most of the pools vinyl liner? If so it IS possible to 'reline' an existing concrete/plaster/painted pool with a vinyl liner and sometime it is possible to install a fiberglass pool shell into the existing pool. Both of these are options to resurfacing or painting your pool you might want to explore also.

Also, instead of limiting yourself to pool service companies, contact pool builders. Many of them also remodel and resurface existing pools.