Paint a Tampa pool cage when the aluminum is straight and the problem is chalk, fade, or light rust. Rescreen it when the mesh is torn or pulled out and the frame is still sound. Replace members when they are bent, split, or rusted through. Paint does not fix a bad frame.
Westchase Painting Company paints cages in Westchase, Carrollwood, and South Tampa. We paint. A screen company does the mesh. The two jobs meet on the same cage, and the order matters.
What you are looking at
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Chalky white or dull gray frame, screen still tight | Oxidation. The coating is gone. The metal is usually fine | Wash, treat light rust, repaint |
| Brown screws, rust streaks under the beam | The fasteners are failing before the frame | Replace the bad screws, treat the streak, then paint |
| Torn screen, black mildew on the mesh, spline pulling out | The screen is done. The frame may still be fine | Rescreen first, or mask a sound screen and paint the frame only |
| Bent roof beam, racked door, a corner that moves when you push it | The structure moved. Paint will hide it for a month | Replace those members, then paint the cage |
| HOA notice about the color | The color is regulated. The condition is separate | Match an approved color. Do not paint first and ask later |
Paint versus replace
A faded cage is a paint job. Homeowners replace whole cages because the chalk looks like rot. Aluminum does not rot. It oxidizes. A wash and a coating bring the color back if the tubes are still straight.
Replacement is the honest job when a beam is kinked, a door no longer latches because the opening racked, or you can push a finger through a rust hole. Coating that metal traps the failure. We will say so on the estimate.
Market range for a straight repaint in Tampa often starts around $1,800. Size, height, and how much rust has to be treated move the number. The April guide covers the painting steps in more detail: pool cage painting in Florida. The service page is pool cage painting. Paint and screen as one job is on pool cage restoration.
Rescreen is not a paint step
Screen has to come off if it is torn, if the spline is loose, or if overspray would ruin mesh you planned to keep. New screen goes back after the coating has cured. Painting first and rescreening later is fine. Rescreening onto a chalky frame is not. The new mesh will outlast the coating, and you will pay to work around it later.
We do not rescreen. If the mesh is finished, hire that trade before or after the paint, not instead of the wash. A new screen on a chalky frame still looks like an old cage.
What the coating has to survive
Chlorine off the pool, afternoon rain, and full sun hit the top beams every day. A hardware-store spray can does not survive that. The frame needs a wash that removes chalk, a treatment on rust spots, and a coating made for exterior metal. Brush and roll on the rails. Spray where the overspray can be controlled. Mask the deck, the screen you are keeping, and the pool water.
Foot traffic on the deck the same day is how grit gets into wet paint. Give the coating the cure time on the estimate. July humidity adds hours. Do not put the furniture back early to save a weekend.
If the house exterior is in the same shape as the cage, do them in one visit. Exterior painting is the house. The cage is its own prep.
Call (813) 320-8710 or request a free estimate. We will tell you on site if the cage is a paint job or a frame job.