Pool Painting in Rockwall, TX

Epoxy, acrylic and rubber-based pool paint

Benjamin Moore designs all four of its pool paints for public and residential pools, but says public pools tend to run higher chlorine, which makes its epoxy or chlorinated rubber the better choice there for their higher chemical resistance.

Epoxy pool paint

Benjamin Moore's data sheet gives its epoxy a spread of 350 to 400 square feet per gallon, a film of 2.5 to 2.8 mils dry, recoating within 3 to 72 hours and a full cure of 7 days outdoors. Ramuc's Hi Build Epoxy builds up to 8 mils dry per coat, which Ramuc says smooths rough surfaces. Every epoxy chalks and fades in sunlight over time; Rust-Oleum calls that change cosmetic only, with no harm to the film's integrity or performance, and adds that epoxy coatings yellow with age.

Waterborne acrylic

Benjamin Moore's waterborne acrylic can go over most pool coatings in good condition, or over bare concrete or plaster, and onto slightly damp surfaces; it recoats in 4 to 6 hours. It isn't for aluminum, stainless steel, galvanized, fiberglass, steel or vinyl-lined pools, or for painting in direct sun or with rain forecast within 3 days. Rust-Oleum says its acrylic can and should go on damp surfaces and is safe over earlier chlorinated and synthetic rubber paint.

Rubber-based paint

Benjamin Moore's synthetic rubber paint is for concrete pools and goes only over earlier rubber-based or chlorinated rubber paint, at 400 to 500 square feet per gallon with 12 to 24 hours before recoating. Its chlorinated rubber line isn't sold in many areas because of limits on solvent emissions (VOCs), and Ramuc suggests moving from traditional chlorinated rubber to the newer synthetic rubber paints. Fiberglass shells have their own paint rules, covered under fiberglass pool resurfacing.

Preparing a concrete or plaster pool for paint

Bare concrete and plaster are etched before the first coat. Benjamin Moore uses a 10% muriatic acid solution until the fizzing stops, neutralizes with 1 lb of baking soda per 5 gallons of water, triple-rinses and lets the surface dry at least 3 days; Ramuc etches with a 15 to 20% muriatic or sulfamic solution to a medium-grade sandpaper finish. Kelley washes with tri-sodium phosphate, 8 ounces per gallon of warm water, and never with a soap-type detergent.

Cracks and joints

Ramuc fills joints and cracks with hydraulic cement or Vulkem 116 polyurethane sealant, never silicone, which hurts paint adhesion, and top-coats the polyurethane before it goes under treated water. Its Hi Build or HB31 epoxy fills hairline cracks, while larger repairs take a patching compound.

Is the surface dry enough?

Ramuc waits 5 dry, sunny days after cleaning, tapes 2-by-2-foot squares of clear plastic to the deep-end wall, the floor and other spots, and checks after about 4 hours: condensation under the plastic means the surface isn't dry enough, and the test is repeated every 24 hours until none forms. Kelley never starts coating with water, moisture or dew on the surface.

Rolling it on

Benjamin Moore uses a short-nap roller, 3/8 to 1/2 inch, and two thin coats rather than one heavy one, because a longer nap lays on too much paint and can cause blistering; it sands with 150 to 180 grit if more than 72 hours pass between coats. On bare masonry its paints may spread at only 250 to 300 square feet per gallon, against 350 to 400 for repaints, and a 30-by-10-foot pool averaging 5 feet deep has about 730 square feet of paintable surface.

What it costs to paint a pool

Paint is priced by the pool's paintable surface. These are published Dallas–Fort Worth and national figures:

Pool paint, per sq ft (Dallas–Fort Worth, 2026)

around $1

Repainting, per 1,000 sq ft (Dallas–Fort Worth, 2026)

$1,547

Painting a pool, per pool (national, 2025)

$1,400–$2,500

Fiberglass or gunite pool, per 1,000 sq ft (national, 2025)

$1,500

Published Dallas–Fort Worth and national figures. Averages, not quotes from Rockwall Pool Resurfacing.

National figures say most pools need up to 10 gallons of paint, and that costs run higher if the pool isn't already drained or its walls need repair before painting. Rockwall Pool Resurfacing gives a free estimate after seeing the pool and the coating on it, and the guide to pool finishes compared sets paint beside plaster, quartz and pebble.