Anybody ever paint limestone coping?

[iowabowhunter]

I have an in-ground concrete pool that was built in 1950. It has what I believe to be the original limestone coping that's in tough shape. Some of the stones have stains, have discolored and have paint drips on them in places. Some of them have been re-set with regular mortar. Some of them are cracked or chipped. I was thinking about painting or staining them. Has anybody seen this done to limestone coping? Do you have any pics?

Thanks
Bob

 

[kimkats]

What I would do is get some sample limestone close to the color you have now and experimenting with different stains. I don't think I would paint as I fear it will peel and chip over time. Stain seems to soak in and stays better in the long run.

Take and share a picture of what you are dealing with. We might have some more ideas.

Kim

 

[iowabowhunter]

Here are some pics.

- - - Updated - - -

 

[kimkats]

What have you used to try to get the paint drips off and the stuff used between the stones? I would use a tiny flat head screw driver to see if you can chip it off. Use great care to not chip off big places. Just one tiny spot at a time. THEN I would find a stain that matched the old stuff. I would NOT paint as it will not hold up over time and be a even bigger mess to deal with- flaking, chipping, etc.

Kim

 

[iowabowhunter]

What have you used to try to get the paint drips off and the stuff used between the stones? I would use a tiny flat head screw driver to see if you can chip it off. Use great care to not chip off big places. Just one tiny spot at a time. THEN I would find a stain that matched the old stuff. I would NOT paint as it will not hold up over time and be a even bigger mess to deal with- flaking, chipping, etc.

Kim

I could remove the paint and mortar fairly easily. I'm more interested in how to remove the dark spots. Is that just aging or staining from chemicals over the years? Or is that just how the stone looks?

 

[kimkats]

That is a part of the beauty of the stone. There is quite a variation is that kind of stone as you can see. Some people like it , some do not. I like it myself.

 

[sham]

Agree with kimkats! That is how most flagstone pool coping looks on natural style pools--looks good!

 

[Caco]

I wonder since its old tile if it would benefit from a good clean and scrub
I would rinse it, give it a good scrub with a soft broom and diluted bleach, maybe 1:4 ratio
Then follow up with a rinse after

Limestone is porous, so should take stain well. If you did want to stain, keep in mind the stain will not even out the colour, it will still look darker in some areas than others. If you went for a really really dark colour it may not be that noticeable. Also if you stain it, you may have to seal it as well. Also the staining would have to be redone periodically

Oh and yes agree with kimkats, you would need to do some test pieces first

 

[duraleigh]

Thje worst thing I see in the pic is the tile needs to be professionally regrouted.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Agree with above regarding the mortar. A good stone mason should be easily able to repoint the mortar joints and reset any stone pieces that need to be fixed back in place. It's also a DIY job but only if you have the right tools and some skills with mortar and stonework.

DryTreat makes many products for cleaning and revitalizing stone. They have products that not only can clean stone surfaces of efflorescence (e.g., Eff-Erayza...I know, a silly name) but also products that can remove a wide variety of organic stains, paints and mildew. On top of that, they also offer a stone sealer product which is well regarded (DryTreat 40SK). DuPont also makes comparable products.

Don't paint the stone. It will look unnatural and just become an eye-sore. Also, as others have said, you'll be lucky to get 2 years out paint before it starts to chip, bubble and disintegrate....

 

[gwegan]

The last thing you want to do is paint. That will start looking ugly within a year. I would get a stone mason over or a decking and patio guy and have him look at what you have. He can make some suggestions about what works locally and what he has experience with that may make you much happy. You can DYI but some of these decking guys are artists and can turn ugly ducklings into swans.