Pavers are a great way to make your outdoor space look very nice. You can use them for patios, decks, walkways, driveways, and more. Some people have even started using pavers to make fire pits of their own design. They are incredibly versatile.
Pavers are made from a multitude of different materials. Some of them are concrete, some are brick, and then there are other materials like rubber, plastic, marble, and so much more. You probably have 20 or more different materials to choose from. They also all come in different colors too. Can you paint pavers if you want to spruce them up or change their color?
Yes, you can paint pavers if you want to give them a different look. Using regular paint probably won’t work all that well. However, there are some special types of paint or even alternatives to paint that you can use to spruce up your look.
In this guide, we will look more in-depth at the question of whether or not you can paint pavers. We will walk you through what you need to know if you try to paint them and give you some alternative solutions as well.
Things to Consider Before Painting Pavers
If you are adamant that painting is what you want to do, you need to know the proper way to do it. You will find that using alternatives might actually work a lot better than just painting. However, it’s totally your home so do what you feel works for you.
Impurities on Surface
Before you try just grabbing paint for your pavers, you need to know what to expect. Pavers tend to have porous materials.
Things like concrete and brick have tons of little impurities on their surfaces. They have pores, bumps, uneven spots, and more. All of these little elements could cause your paint to simply not take very well.
It’s not that your painting skills are bad, it’s just the materials heavily absorb paint.
Of course, then you also have to consider that your pavers are outdoors. They are subjected to foot traffic, weather, and who knows what else. If you’re going to use paint, you’ve got to use paint that is suitable for the outdoors.
How to Paint Pavers?
If you’re going to paint your pavers, we recommend following these steps.
- Clean the pavers very well, trying to remove all loose debris from the surface.
- Coat the pavers in a clear sealant. This will help to reduce the paint that is just absorbed by the porous pavers.
- Paint the pavers with your choice of paint. Be sure you use something made for the outdoors. You may need to paint more than one coat.
- Let the paint dry.
- Cover the paint with a clear coat sealant that is waterproof and weatherproof, made for outdoors.
If you use these steps, your paint is much more likely to hold up and look nice on the pavers.
Now, if you’re looking for some alternatives, we’ve got you covered there too.
Alternatives to Painting
While these alternatives may not be the answer you are looking for, they might be exactly that. Choose the method you feel will give you the look you are after. Remember that you can paint pavers but we highly recommend you use a paint suitable for the surface and then follow the steps that we outlined above.
Check out these other options that you might want to try out as well.
Staining
Staining might feel like it’s only meant for wood but you can actually use stain on other materials as well. In fact, did you know that they make stains in all sorts of colors? You can stain using a wood color but you could also use a non-traditional color as well.
There is also a type of stain that is called gel stain that could be suitable here as well.
The thing about stain is it was designed to be used on a material that just soaks up paint. If you think about wood, it soaks up the paint just like pavers might. So, the stain is composed a little bit differently to help combat that potential issue.
If you use stain, you won’t have to worry as much about the pavers just soaking it up. You should still clean your pavers first and then plan to cover the finished product in a sealant to protect it.
Cleaning and Sealing Update
If you’re just looking for a refresh rather than a complete color change, a good option might be to just clean and re-seal your pavers. Over time, dirt and debris take place on the pavers and they look like they lose their color or their shine.
While they certainly probably do lose some of that over time, you would be surprised at just how much a really good cleaning and a fresh coat of sealant might refresh the look of your pavers.
If the goal is just to make them look nice again and the color isn’t a huge issue, this is a great option!
Grab a pressure washer or a hose with really great pressure and give the pavers a really good cleaning. Sweep, scrub, brush, all of that good stuff. Once they’re clean, let them dry, and then add that sealant coating.
Step back and admire the refreshed view.
Replace Pavers
Finally, you can always replace your pavers with a new option if you need to. If you want a different look, different style, or just something new this could work for you.
Replacing pavers can be a costly and laborious undertaking but it might just give you that new look that you are after.
Conclusion
You can paint your pavers but you need to be careful to do so with the right steps for it to work well. You can also check out the alternative solutions and end up with some really great results. No matter which method you decide to use, your pavers will look nice in the end.
What will you try?
