To repair cool deck flaking (not cracks in concrete):
Step One:
All of the flaking or cracked texture needs to be removed. This is accomplished by using a scraper in conjunction with a high pressure washer. If the flaking is excessive and severe it may not be necessary to use the pressure washer. Bottom line is the old patch needs to be removed to expose the underlying cement. The cement also needs to be cleaned and all loose dirt or sand needs to be removed. On areas where the patch is solid and sticks firmly to the cement the sides of those areas should be smoothed at 90 degree angle to prepare for the new cool deck coating.
Step Two:
After the removal of the old texture, wash off the exposed concrete and make sure all loose material is also removed. Using a mixture of half muriatic acid and half water, scrub the exposed cement to "score" the cement and also to clean off contaminants. After 3 or 4 minutes completely rinse off concrete and scrub with a hard brush to ensure all acid is removed. Again, a high pressure washer is always recommended for the best removal of all acid and residue. I let the concrete dry completely before moving on to the next step. I've found that any moisture remaining in the concrete will cause the new decking to flake and peel within a few years.
Step Three:
Several products exist on the market for cool decking. The easiest is a product I've found is by a company by the name of E-Z Patch. My best advise is to use the internet to find a store that carries the product. The coating product is applied directly to the concrete with a roller. Two coats are typically required. Dry time is normally 3 to 4 hours depending on the day.
look cool and last for a couple of years
I'd also suggest concrete stain.
The catch with both staining and painting, of course, is that you need to find the stable surface.
We had a floor that was covered in tile mastic. To remove it, we used this soy based mastic remover. If you contact them, they can send a sample to see if it works for your particular glue. It smells funny, but isn't toxic.
You pour it on, let it sit, and it eventually liquifies the mastic. You then squeegee + wetvac it all up, then give it a quick wash with water to get ready for staining.
Acid staining is fairly easy. You add the stain to a sprayer (a manual-pump garden sprayer works well) and just spray it all over the place. Let it sit for a while. Then you pour a neutralizer on it and as before, squeegee/wetvac it all up.
As a final step you can apply a roll-on sealer of some sort.
I think it's a great look and relatively painless (it's a bit tedious, but not back-breaking work).
Barring all of that, I'd perhaps just opt for a cheap floating laminate floor. Theres so much variety now with laminates and they should last a couple of years.
Best Answer
You say "paint-like" texture. Are you sure it's paint?
If it's paint, any sort of chemical paint stripper should do the trick. There are quite a number of more "friendly" "citrus" or "orange" based paint strippers that don't have the smell and toxic concerns of paint strippers of the past.
I presume a patio is outdoors, so a pressure washer may do the trick. Aim the blast at the currently chipped edges to allow the water to get underneath them and lift. You may need to shoot the water almost horizontally for the more stubborn bits. Aiming at a fairly well covered area is unlikely to get a hole started. If you've got enough pressure to do that, though, you've got a non-zero chance of actually damaging the concrete underneath, too, so turn down the pressure.
It's possible that you've got an epoxy coating instead of paint. I'm not certain if the "friendly" strippers will work on that, you'll probably have to get one that's specifically for epoxy coating. Also, the pressure washer may not work so well on epoxy - it tends to grip pretty well.
If you're not sure what you've got, try taking a few flakes (the bigger the better) to a local paint store to see if the can ID it for you and make a recommendation.