Pool Solutions DIY Pool Paint

A GUIDE FOR DIY ENTHUSIASTS

ALWAYS READ THE INSTRUCTIONS - A FEW TIMES !

We sell DIY packages country-wide with excellent feedback and a 99.9% success rate. In fact, the two or three complaints we had over the years were all due to circumstances like rain, or a clever handyman following his own methods etc. Stay humble, follow our step-by-step instructions although it might feel like baby steps, you will be successful!

The success of the DIY job will depend solely on your commitment to thoroughly read our application instructions. Over a period of 10 years, we have perfected our methods to minimize the chances of failure.

You can download the complete instructions from our downloads section, or you can request that we email it to you - click here

A Few Pointers - in Short

Please note that this is not the full application instructions, just a few important points to keep your mind busy:

Always use an electric drill equipped with a paint mixing tip. Round sticks just don't get job done properly.
Mix the A components separately first (especially the Top [A]-part). Measure the A and B components in small quantities i.e. 4 Liters (3l A + 1l B) and thoroughly mix for at least 3 minutes.
Very important: please mix the Primer A and Primer B components together and Topcoat A and Topcoat B components together. If you mix Topcoat A with Primer A .... well, anything can happen. We had clients who told us that our product is not working; "The epoxy is still wet after 14 days!". We normally ask them how much of each component they have left over and guess what? The figures don't add up. Removing that sticky stuff is something we don't whish for anyone, not even our enemies.
So, you have mixed 4 liters of primer epoxy - now start painting! Don't go to the toilet or drink coffee now, or you might end up with a smoking bucket quickly changing into a something hard and solid ... however, if it does happen to you, remove the hardened, molded form from the bucket. Use the object as a door-stopper, or a small children's chair, at least you will be the only person with such an amazing thing!

Painting is the easy part, anyone can do it. You can test this fact; just stop next to road where the job seekers are gathering in your area and ask if anyone of them can paint a swimming pool, in a blink of an eye, you will have twenty "professional" painters inside your vehicle and maybe even few on the roof! See... anyone can paint...

Remember, keep an eye on the sky, you don't want to be interrupted in the middle of the job by a rain storm. Mixing wet epoxy with water can become messy. If in doubt, wait till the next day. Visit www.weathersa.co.za for a sometimes totally misleading weather forecast. .

Another good weather site that can give you the forecast for different hours of the day iis: http://www.wunderground.com/, (search for your area).

There are two options available to you to get the job done:

1. If you are working alone and have a relatively large swimming pool, follow our normal 4-5 day process as indicated below.

2. If you can hire some help or get the wife and kids to help, you can follow the two-day process.

Longer method (4-5 days)

Primer 1 (sealing layer)

For this first day of painting you will have to get out of bed preferably before 12H00 PM. Begin early, you will have to apply two coatings on the same day. The earlier the better, for in case some rainy weather appears in the afternoon.

After grinding the pool surface with grinders and P16 Fibre disks to obtain a clean, dry surface, a primer epoxy is applied with Mowhair rollers to penetrate and saturate the surface to a depth of 1mm to 2mm of the marble plaster or cement plaster substrate.
You will have to regularly inspect the pool after application and watch out for spots that were absorbed to the extend that dry spots may appear. Re-coat these spots while the epoxy is still wet.
The first primer is left until it becomes tacky, proceed with the first top-coat before the primer coat becomes hard and glossy. (In winter times this might take 2 hours due to slower reaction times of the epoxy liquids, in summer 30 min -1 hour)

First Top-coat

This is the interesting part. Whoever is going to do this will need to walk on slippery or sticky primer. If the primer is still quite wet, you might see a view splits and other acrobatic balancing acts. Keep the video camera at hand! If the primer has become very sticky, watch them walk on tacky glue. You will need shoes with smooth soles to walk onto the wet and sticky primer coat. Use gum boots of which the soles have been grinded smooth, or bind plastic bags around the feet. Rather apply the first top-coat on quite wet primer than too dry and tacky primer.

It is important not to start too late with the topcoat. Once the primer has completely dried, proper bonding between the layers are compromised. Dry epoxy layers must always be sanded before applying the next coat.
The first top coat and the still sticky primer will "fuse", creating a very solid layer of epoxy.
Don't apply too thick, especially in the winter to prevent sagging overnight.
Check for any spots that were skipped and touch up with top coat epoxy.
Leave to dry overnight.

Second Top-coat

The dried and glossy "middle coat" MUST be sanded thoroughly to remove "blushing" and to break the gloss for a better mechanical bond.
Apply a more thickly coat this time. An ideal spread-rate is 10-12 sq.m per liter.
Start in the deep end and work your way to the shallow end and the steps. Oh, I'm sorry, I should have told you this in the beginning so you don't paint yourself into a corner in the deep end.
Remember to check for contamination around the pool on the paving and even on the inside edge of the coping stone. I have seen some "professional" painters hanging unto the edge with a hand full of epoxy while painting the walls with the other hand. Remove all contamination immediately with mentholated spirits or thinners. Keep the spirits in hand while watching them paint, spirits tend to disappear when left alone and the workers becomes less proficient.

Third Top-coat

By this time you should be an experienced weather man. This is your final finishing coat and you don't want it ruined by rain. Select the best of the best of the "professional" painters you might have hired. Repeat the procedures as with the second top-coat.

Quick Method (2 days)

This method can be followed if you are confident that you have hired real painters to help you. If your wife and kids seem confident and have rehearsed the process well the previous evening, you might consider a family effort.

Decide beforehand who will be the boss, who will be the mixer, who will be the roller-painters and who will be the brush painter. This process will require good timing and organizational skills.

Depending on the size of the swimming pool, two to four applicators will be required.

First day

On the first day of the project, only do the emptying and preparation as described earlier, grinding, patching and cleaning the pool. Download our full application instructions for more details.

Second day

You need to be a weather prophet to successfully complete the project on the second day. All four layers of epoxy will be applied on one day without further sanding between layers, as is necessary with the longer method.

You will need lots of plastic covering around the pool to protect the paving against contamination. You will also need the wider 100mm Mowhair rollers, two per worker. These rollers are to be fitted onto telescopic extensions available from hardware shops or paint shops. The extensions will press-fit into the roller handles.

After following our normal application instructions in preparation and applying the primer and first top-coat while working inside the swimming pool, using the recommended 50mm Mowhair rollers and brushes, you can now deviate at this point from the longer procedure to apply the third and last top-coat layers on the same day:

After application of the primer and the first top-coat as per instructions, monitor the epoxy applied for approximately 1 hour. As soon as it seems that the first applied coats are not too wet or slippery for the rollers and has become "paintable", apply the next top-coat mix using 100mm Mowhair rollers fitted on extension poles.
Mix enough product to cover the complete swimming pool. Make sure you have enough hands available to paint the whole surface in 30 minutes. If you take too long to apply the mix, the mixed product will start to set in the bucket and will lose it's bonding strength and will become too stiff to apply properly. If in doubt, rather mix smaller quantities at a time and apply in sections. The final coat must however rather be applied in one continious application
Use the 100mm rollers fixed to the extension poles and apply the paint while walking around the edge of the pool. Use proper sunglasses to examine the applied layer to see if any patches were skipped. Re-apply where necessary.
After applying a thickly layer, let the painters start from the deep end again and "roll" the layer again with the same rollers, but not applying new paint. This will ensure that teardrops will not be forming due to the thicker damp/wet paint.
Monitor the layer again for approximately 1 hour until it becomes "paintable" again. Use this time to remove any contamination and to inspect the surface for spots that were missed. Apply paint per brush along the tile edges. The painters will have to lie on the edge of the pool to do this. This task can also be done by one painter while the others are busy applying with the rollers.
Follow the same process for the final coat. If product is left over, repeat the process and thicken the coat a bit along the top 500mm edge of the pool sides and on the steps. Do not apply thicker than 1mm as this might cause the epoxy to dry too fast in certain spots creating surface cracks later.
Try to use all the epoxy paint. Left-over paint can however be used to paint the bird and water features in the garden, even without primer.
Never use epoxy paint to paint humans! Water and soap might proof inefficient. Leave people black or white or whatever in-between colour they might be. If epoxy ends up on bare skin, remove with spirits within the hour.
Should the weather interfere at any stage, this should be detected at least 4 hours before it rains. The epoxy will become rain resistant after 4-6 hours. Between applications of the different layers, watch the weather, if you smell rain, stop before mixing product for the next layer. Let the existing layers dry overnight until weather allows you to proceed. Sand the hardened layers by hand using p60 sandpaper to create a strong mechanical bond. Then proceed with the application of the next layer.

Disclaimer:
We take no responsibility for any mishaps, hardened product left-over, injuries, family fights or divorce action indirectly or directly related to the DIY application of our product. Contact us for a special replacement price for epoxy liquids should you need replacement product for whatever embarrassing reason. Be honest with us, we are always willing to help. :-)

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This is just an overview. Download the instruction manual for the full details.

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DIY Pool Paint - Epoxy System