paint chipping off inground spa

[davidj1981]

We recently purchased a new home that has an inground pool with a spa. The pool is fine, but it looks like quite a bit of the paint is peeling off the spa. Here is a picture:



Is the blue that showing through the original paint, or is that some kind of primer layer? Would it be safe for me to pressure wash/scrape off the white paint?

thanks.

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP

I can tell you paint is probably the worst thing you can do to a pool... it does not last as paint is just not designed to be submerged under water... it gets done more than you think and you are now going to have to deal with it...

The blue underneath it is probably plaster from the original pool and whoever sold it did not want to spend the money to have the pool chipped out and plastered again...

I think you could pressure wash the paint off but you will need some way to keep the paint from mixing with the rest of your water... I would probably get 3 to 5 quotes on replastering the pool and go from there..

 

[davidj1981]

thanks. I was thinking of draining the hot tub then just pressure washing it. If I do get all the paint off, is it safe to just leave that blue plaster layer? Or does it need to be sealed or something?

ugh, this spa has been more trouble than its worth. I replaced the heater when we first moved in and am now having the bubbler replaced. Now I need to replaster it. I now understand why the previous owners had a separate hot tub.

 

[cowboycasey]

so that is really the problem with an attached pool hot tub... really it is only used in the summer for warmer water... are you closing the pool or keeping it open all year... If you close it the hot tub will also be closed... That is why most have a separate hot tub for winter use..

I am not sure why they painted it.. was the plaster failing? was it just not looking good? was it cracked and leaking? I think you will find out once you start taking the paint off. And I think you are going to want to replaster the pool and hot tub at the same time... if the paint is already doing this on the hot tub the pool is right behind it, by spring I bet it is doing the same thing...

 

[Dirk]

As long as the pool and spa hold water (don't leak), there's not much harm in doing whatever you want to to that paint. That was a cheap and ultimately ineffective step to prolong the aging finish underneath (primarily just to make it look better). Casey is right, this is just the beginning of the end for that finish. You can decide to do more of the same (removing and repainting every few years), or you can bite the bullet and do it right and have a finish that can last up to 20 years or more without looking bad or falling apart.

Based on how pools generally affect home value, you likely just got a free pool. So in terms of $ you're way ahead. But the reality might be that you're going to have to pony up some to bring that pool and spa up to snuff. And that might be in the low five figures, to upgrade the finish and possibly some of the equipment. But that's a whole lot better than $50-100K for a new pool, right? You'll end up with a pool that is literally as good as new, for a fraction of the cost.

Sorry, you didn't actually get a free pool, but you got a heck of a good deal on one. And you mentioned the pool is fine, and maybe it is. You could conceivably just get the spa refinished. Do you know how old the pool/spa is?

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