Encore Coatings Cool Pool Deck Paint Coating

Bought this product a year ago to recoat the cool deck around our pool. My annual power washing had exposed some of the concrete and it had began to look unsightly. We waited for a warm but not hot day and followed the directions. I purchased 2 of these containers and was able to completely coat the side I was planning to work on, as well as most of a second patio on the other side of the pool. It was a fairly easy process though time consuming to first clean the surface (wait a day), apply the coating (wait a day) and then apply the water proofing, but a year has gone by and it still looks fantastic. At the beginning of this summer (2020) I applied additional water proofing and it has held up very well. I plan to apply additional water proof (Behr) every year but other than that I am very happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone. Update Dec 2025: I was just not admiring the coating that I applied 6 years ago. I was very careful to follow the instructions and the application still is in great shape! So glad I used this stuff!

This paint is ideal for the concrete around your pool. My pool deck has deep scalloped lines in the concrete which made it difficult to fill even with a large nap roller. I had to brush fill every line which took a ton of time. Most importantly, whatever it tells you on the container about coverage, I would err on the low side or double whatever it tells you. I went through 4 pales of this to do two coats (plus those pesky grooves) on my pool deck. I tinted it with the recommended paint from HDepot. Also, just because this comes in a 5-gallon pale, you are not getting 5 gallons of paint. Even after you add your 1 gallon of tint, you only end up with 3 to 3 1/2 gallons of paint to use. To be fooled by the size of the container. Finally, don't apply when it's blazing hot out. It will dry too quickly including on your roller and the large nap won't work the way it should. Other than that, it's expensive but probably worth it. We'll see how it holds up. I'm happy with how it turned out but it was a lot of work.

Was looking for a cost effective method to update our pool deck, and this was the answer. We had exposed aggregate pebble deck that was out dated and worn out. After getting some estimates on having it replaced with a Kool Deck I started to look for other options. This was by far a much cheaper option. I have had it down for about a year and have had a few areas that have required some attention. I reached out directly to Encore coatings to ask for some advise on repair and was blown away with their service. Ryan asked me to text him some phots of my issues. He responded within 10 mins (this was after 6 pm his time) and told me he would review and follow up with a call. The next day I got a call from Jeff and he explained to me what had caused my issues (small areas where Cool Deck came up). For me it was not making sure the overlay concrete I applied prior to the Cool Deck was fully cured. In my case I was so excited with results from my test area I didn't wait for the full cure. Jeff gave me some detailed instructions on how to fix those areas. Again I cannot tell you how impressed I have been with their support. I informed him I was going to try it over the weekend and he gave me his cell number incase I ran into any issues. For the areas that did not have an issue the appearance looks just as good as when I applied it over a year ago. I have pressure washed the area multiple times as well as have had lots of organic tree sap and other matter on the deck and has not been an issue. I did not use the sealer, but after talking with Jeff I ordered some from them directly and will apply soon. If you are looking for a good option to really make your deck or patio look new at a reasonable cost this is your product. Just don't rush the process and check out their website, they have a ton of how to and what to avoid videos. Great product and better customer support.

Easy to use product easy to tint and apply, but this has not at all cooled my concrete if anything it has made it hotter.. I will have to hose off concrete before kids can walk on it. It does have good grip, but it is way expensive to not cool the concrete down. I wish I had the coolcrete from Sherwin Williams it worked great but it was on Backorder and they didn't have a time frame....while this doesn't live up to its name and I have now wasted over $750.

1 YEAR UPDATE: Cool for Pools accomplishes it’s core goal of making your deck cooler. It has been excellent for that, and in turn has made my house cooler as the concrete around it isn’t baking it. However, I had issues where some came up where water pooled during the So. Cal rain storms. Additionally, and it’s partly because I chose a light color, but the product definitely stains. That’s with the SealBack top coat. Even with power washing, I can’t get the stains off. I have learned to embrace the natural imperfections. I have ordered more to patch it up, but I have to deduct 1 star because while I can understand the water pooling issue, it stained more easily that I’d like, and chipped in a few spots inexplicably. If I had to do the project over, I might have rebuilt the deck after a year or two instead. I’ll revise this another year on. Cool for Pools is the best possible option for a DIYer with a concrete pool deck. It is expensive. I needed 7 of these to complete my project, plus sealer, concrete cleaner, and other supplies. So, this project cost me over $2500, and I was 100% of the labor force. However, your alternatives are slim. You could go to a big box store and buy some concrete paint or stain for a pool deck and do the same sized project as I had for under $500, possible under $250, but the deck would be really no cooler and the finish would last maybe a few years, and it would typically be even harder to properly put down. Alternatively, you could hire a company to lay something like Sundeck, which would’ve cost me about $20,000, and in the end the result isn’t much better, if at all, than if you just used Cool for Pools. I live in sunny San Diego and my concrete gets blasted by sunshine all day, and most of the year the concrete is too hot to walk on around 10AM. $2500 is a great investment for me and my family to be able to walk around our year-round pool any time of the day. Cool for Pools features an excellent anti-slip surface. That’s important to me with little kids. The surface is rough, but comfortable. Expect a project like the one I had to take about 4 days. I spent 7 hours (3.5 in the early morning, 3.5 in the evening when the deck cooled down again) just laying 75% of the first coat. Then I had to of course do the rest, lay a second coat and seal it. You absolutely have to do your prep work to the T. The best way to have that go smoothly is to watch Encore’s videos on how to install it properly. It’s a couple of hours that’s well-worth it. You cannot rush this job, you do not want a mess on your hands, and you want this investment to payoff. Lastly, yes, this is a big time investment and for some people a large financial investment as well. Personally, I don’t mind the price so much as the time investment, but I don’t like other people working on my house when I can avoid it (no one loves your own house as much as yourself). However, there’s no better way to get an excellent-looking, cool-at-all-hours pool deck. Everything else is either 5-10x+ the price, or cheap and mediocre. Watch the instructional videos. Do the prep work. Spend the time. Get the project done right and as cost-effectively as possible.

We have an old original Kool deck patio around our pool that has worn many colors etc over the years. Every summer we end up having to recoat it or and some of the kool deck was coming up. I did all the suggested prep work - we power washed, then cleaned and primed the surface. I also filled in some of the larger cracks. Was worried about when to apply since I am in Arizona and temps are well over 90 right now. Cautiously started the first coat last night after dark, and woke up to a beautiful finish even with a small monsoon storm that surprised us overnight. Got up early to appt second coat and am so incredibly pleased with the outcome. Our patio has never looked better. There were no issues for me with the rolling/drying too quickly - maybe I am just used to drying rates being faster in Az, but it was not a huge deal on the way I anticipated it would be. Watch the videos - the techniques definitely help. I used Behr exterior paint in Spanish Sand which is a perfect cream color. The product perfectly blended the areas where Kool Deck was coming up and made our patio look brand new.

I loved this one my deck i power wash it 4 time already and still no chipping or imperfections...plus cool on the feet...

Much easier than expected after reading all reviews for application. You can definitely premix all mixture at paint store with color of choice in the 5 gallon bucket the day prior and let it sit overnight without hardening. I purchased 3 buckets and had over 450sq ft to apply. I actually bought 4 gallons of the acrylic paint for which I used a 3rd on the extra gallon just in case it did dry and get hard during application. I put 3 generous coats which does dry up by the time i get back around (about an hour for me) with first coat and sealed it afterwards 2 hours later. I live in Texas and started at 7am (78*) and finshed painting at 1230pm (92*). The Cool Deck definently gets thicker in the bucket around the 90* temperature but it was still manageable. I definitely recommend this product. Follow all instructions and you should be fine.