I would recommend removing all the old plaster and paint underneath. Multiple layers of material may pose a problem with bonding down the road.

The material can be chipped out or a jet blaster can be used. You'd want to get to the original substrate (concrete shell). Then a bond coat is applied and then new plaster is applied.

The paint showing through now, indicates a poor bond. Putting an additional layer of material on top, will most likely peel too.

@mojarashe You might want to look into ecoFINISH.

https://www.louisianapool.com/ecofinish

The day our new plaster pool finished filling, we noticed a lot of crazing above one of the fixtures and a huge white streak going ftom the fixture down the side of the pool and towards the deep end from where water leaked from around the fixture both before and after the gray plaster was applied. The pool builder is acting as though it is not a big deal but I don’t like the ugly white stain and am concerned about the cracking. is this a structural issue we should be cincerned about? Is there any way to remove this stain? Very vigorous brushing hasn’t made a dent in it

Not an expert, but that looks like water leaking from the ground back into the pool and using the fixture portal to do so. If water was leaking through BEFORE plastering then that problem should've been addressed immediately. I'd be holding the contractor responsible and on the phone with your state's licensing bureau to file a complaint.

xtexan86 tha ks for your reply. The water waa definitely coming through before plastering and again after plastering before the pool was filled. The discloroation has improved some after a lot of muriatic acid was added. Does this type of leak compromise the structural integrity of the pool?

Hello, is this normal AFTER an acid wash was done? Pool is 5 years old. The company who performed the acid wash said the original plaster was done poorly and that is the cause.

Is this normal after an acid wash?

Having our 28 year old pool renovated with Quartzscapes. In order to insure that the warranty is valid, I asked renovation company to provide evidence that they are a certified/approved applicator of the product. The only certificate they had was from 2017, stating that they are a "2017 Quartzscape Approved Applicator". Does this certification get updated annually (should I see one dated 2022) or is this one certificate from 2017 enough?

Call the plaster manufacturer and ask them if the dealer has a current certificate.

National Pool Tile is the company-NPT

Is it possible to substitute black diamond coal slag for sand in the plaster mix?

I have a new wet edge surface done a week ago. steps and swim out are wavy and makes once perfect trim tiles look like an idiot installed them. Wet edge certified installer says hydro polishing would make it look worse yet Wet Edge said it can be fixed. Any thoughts?

I had a new concrete pool deck poured right after my pool was replastered and new tile installed, same contractor. Right after the pool was filled, they came and used a concrete saw, made several cuts to lay pavers in like the expansion joints. The dust and and chunks of concrete landed in the pool. The same pool contractor sold and installed a Jolly filter. Said it never needs to be back washed. We complained about the concrete dust that was everywhere! Stuck to all our brand new patio furniture, black fencing around pool, AC units and of course IN THE NEWLY REPLASTERED POOL! The company came out at looked at it, turned on the filter, it cleaned it up as far as looks. But was never able to keep chems balanced. Hired a new pool cleaning co. He couldn’t keep it balanced either. Checked the filter and it was jam packed with concrete dust! He replaced something in the filter but 3 years later we still can’t keep it balanced. And my grand kids get out of the pool with bleeding feet. $30k wasted! I hate all of it. The pavers faded already and almost as white as the concrete. I’m no chemist but it sure does seem to me that fresh concrete dust sitting in a new plaster pool would cause a chemical reaction of some sort! Would I be correct?

While we were in the planning stage of the re do, I picked out tile for the water line and pavers to be installed in the expansion joints in the concrete. After both jobs started, I was told the tile I picked were both out of stock. Feels like a bait and switch and I had to hurry and pick something, limited choices. Also the job was put on hold for a few weeks. One of the workers told me that they were pulled off my job to work on the owners basement pour. I don’t know if it was the concrete co owner or the pool co owner. Either way it doesn’t matter. I hired the pool co, they hired the concrete co or maybe it’s a co they work with regularly, none of this was acceptable! The company was SWIMMOR. If you read issues people have had with them on Google you can see that it’s always the customers fault/problem. Stay away from them! I wish I had read reviews before ever considering them for my pool project!

Hi. Our pool is finished! Our finish is quartzscapes. Im worried about the in water chairs we bought for the tanning ledge. They have 3 inch wide feet on them. With regular use by 6 ft hefty adult men, will they damage the finish?

Don’t lose sleep on this. Lol

First timer-building a pool in AZ-what your favorite pebble tec/sheen color? I'm going crazy trying to pic out. Thanks for any insight! My pool builder's favorites are aqua blue and blue surf. I have no idea what to do.

I have small elongated spots on bottom of pool that was refinished two years ago that appear to be imbedded rist. 1/4 long and 1/16 wide Noone can tell what it is or tell me how to fix. having difficulty getting install company to come look

@Berly, here is the PebbleTec we used for the pool we built last year. I like a very light blue color for the water and used ivory Shellock paver by Artistic Pavers. The water is even paler than what shows up in the photos, more like what you see on the shallow sun shelf.

We just had our pool replastered and went from plaster to pebbletec. They did not do a full chip out and only chipped out the hollow areas. Also they applied a bond over the plaster and even left the tiles on the steps on and applied the new tile right over it. I even very concerned and there is no point of return bc they already finished. They guaranteed me they’ve been doing this for years and have never had a problem.

I have heard of contractors plastering over tile. I for one, am not comfortable with that. I would have chipped them. It doesn't take much effort.

If they guaranteed you in writing there would be no problem, then you can only go with that.

I doubt I can get anything in writing from them but do you know if a partial chip out is okay? The pool has never been replastered before and the pool was built in 1998. Thanks

I‘m curious to see the answer to this. I’ve seen a pool that was partially chipped out, end up with calcium nodules all over the entire pool. Of course, the plaster company blamned water chemistry on the plaster defects.

Brand new pool and plaster… i think it looks awful, is this normal? PB just did acid wash and didnt help at all!

NPT PolishedScapes - how slippery is this finish? We will have a baja shelf and I'm worried about people slipping.

I just had my pool plastered and it kept starting/ stopping of the rain. Now i have what looks like several rust streaks down the sides of the pool. l. Is this caused by the rain?

should i get them to fix it and how?

Thank you, I enjoy making swimming pools, using applications such as pure polyurea for several advantages because of its waterproofing properties and not being affected by chemicals.

www.egypt-ets.com

Hi! We are trying to decide on a pool finish (we are in the Ojai/Ventura area). I love the feel of plaster but our contractor is arguing it will become mottled before we know it (we are favoring a dark/med gray color). They are pushing pebble sheen but I don’t like the feel (or the look). hydrazzo has also been pushed but it’s very costly and also apparently is a pain to maintain. Any thoughts or recommendations? Thanks so much!

The darker colors have more of a propensity to mottle as there are more dyes added to achieve those colors. Lighter colors will have less noticeable mottling.

Hydrazzo or any other plaster finish is nor more a "pain to maintain". Maintaining proper water chemistry for any finish is paramount.

It also starts at the beginning with the proper cleaning prep, favorable weather conditions on application day, and the skill and experience of the applicator(s).

We truck water in on every job to fill pools after plastering. Sequestering agents added during the fill and the going forward for 30 days maintaining chemistry and brushing as needed.

We recently had pebble tech installed in our 20 year old pool. They did a complete chip out. It looks lovely and we have water in the pool. However, in our new bubblers (and maybe other spots, idk yet) pieces of plaster keep coming up through the system. At time clogging the bubbler(s) until the come out. There are little pieces of the old plaster all through the pool in this purging process. Is this normal?? Should the various plumbing holes been covered to prevent this? Will it harm the plumbing system?

Contractor should have been more careful to plug off all plumbing and really and do a complete clean up.

Not a big deal pieces coming back through, but the bubbler orifice, usually small, could clog which means disassembling and cleaning.

Our pool was replastered this year. The coping and tile was done last year. The new plaster has white spots all over the surface. They tried a no-drain acid wash with no results. The plasterer wants to wait until we reopen in April and do spot plastering. This does not seem like a good idea. The new plaster went over one layer of old plaster. Should we insist on a new plaster job?

The day they replastered it started to rain directly after they were done and they tried to tent the pool but we thing some of the rain got in and made the white marks as it looks like puddles on the bottom of the pool.

Spot plaster?? It's not like it's drywall getting patched. Making a repair will definitely be noticeable especially on any colored plaster.

I've posted countless times on this thread about plaster issues and to reiterate, it all starts at the beginning with a proper prep, to weather conditions, application, filling and chemical care.

If any of these,and some in between not mentioned, are not strictly followed, there will be a failure in the finish.

The contractor should have been prepared with a tent before the rain. Carefully checking and monitoring weather prior to working pays off.

The white spots may be calcium nodules. In pool plaster, it generally indicates an improper bond of the plaster to the substrate (original plaster). Mostly seen on re-plaster jobs and not new pools. Re-plastering requires a bond coat to allow the old and the new plaster properly bond.

The problem will persist and probably won't go away. Acid washing might help a bit but can etch the surface making it rough. And who wants a rough surface on their feet?

Here's a good explanation on this subject. https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/calcium-nodules-in-pools.66499/#:~:text=What%20are%20calcium%20nodules%3F%20In%20swimming%20pools%20and,rough%20to%20the%20touch%2C%20hard%2C%20and%20generally%20gritty.

Thank you for that information. The plaster they put on was over old plaster. If they were to replaster pool would you advise putting new plaster over recenly done plaster? I’ve read you should only have two coats of plaster.

I have attached photos of what bottom of pool looks like. White spots and lines everywhere, but they are smooth to the touch. I guess we could live with it but we were promised a ”new” pool and it was thousands of dollars.

Katherine Dawson

It looks like white patches more than isolated spots. If the no drain acid wash did not change anything, it probably won't go away. And, the acidic condition would etch the surface and make it rough creating another issue.

I would not re-plaster over those multiple layers. Both layers should be removed to get to the original substrate (pool shell) The most effective way is with a jet blaster. It's a specialized water pressure washer that can completely remove the plaster. Chipping the material off is a waste of time and does not get all of the material.

I hope you are still answering questions!
Everyone says I can not plaster my pool in a RED color.
Bright red.
Plaster guys say
“ it will turn change colors over time, can’t customize a color, it won’t work with white plaster”
How does the other colors work with white plaster??

I am confused when I search red bottom plastered pools.
Why can you not customize the color?
I hate the question “why red?” And the look the plaster guys give me.
Easy answer because it’s my pool and that’s what I want.
The guys get so weird about it.
Who cares what color I want to do
Thanks

You can certainly have a custom color made up.

The caveat is that to achieve this color and other standard colors, there are pigments added. They can fade over time. But it does not mean it will look bad. I've saw a pool many years ago that was a flamingo pink color.

The red finish will have a different appearance once the water is in the pool. This happens with essentially all the plaster finishes. Again, it won't look bad if it is your taste.

Your right. Who cares what color you want?

Can you pool plaster plywood? I am making a hill billy steam room.

No

We are installing a pool and need to choose between Stonescapes MicroPebble and Universal Micro or Radient Fusion. Which finish is the smoothest? Should we consider Polishscapes or the Universal Artic series if we want something smoother than the micro finishes? We want smooth but not slippery as we have a baja shelf.

Also, after install, do we need to brush these finishes 2X per day during the first month. Our pool builder will handle the water chemistry by checking it once a week. We are worried because we are scheduled to go out of town 2 weeks after the pool is finished/filled and we will be gone for 20 days. We can hold the pool finish until after we return if its advisable to brush daily for a month and be present to check water chemistry daily. We don't want to jeopardize our pool curing process.

Thank you for your help!

Did your contractor give you sample swatches of the material? That would help in your decision. Or, ask to see pools they have completed that have both finishes.

The water chemistry should be tested and balanced over a two-week period DAILY. The first 3 days after filling are critical as things can change quickly. Checking once a week during the first 2 weeks is noy sufficient.

Adding a sequestering agent during the fill-up is advisable.

We truck water into every project for a fast fill and the ability to start up the filtration system.

No garden hoses.

Brushing twice per day, or more if you can, for 2 weeks is best. No auto cleaners and no salt for 30 days.

Builder claims this is Pebbletec but Pebbletec says they aren’t an authorized installer. I showed builder these lines and he says he’s not worried about them. We paid a ton for this pool and this looks shady. Any experts out there that want to weigh in?

Pics are not very clear. What color is the Pebbletec?

It was sold as Pebbletec. This is supposed to be Pebblefina steel grey.

My pool is saltwater. What is this brown/orange staining? We get it in our shower also- is it hard water?! How do we get it off in the pool when it’s below water line??? Any suggestions are much appreciated. Also to note we are never with a ph other than 8, no matter how much acid is added. Every week it’s the same thing.

That is an Iron stain.

Your water coming to your home is the source. That's why you also see the staining in your shower. It's a common thing with either city water or well water.

For the pool, Sparkle Conquest by Alden Leeds is an excellent chemical to get rid of the stains in the pool. Using it on a regular basis will keep it check as every time you add water to the pool, you are also introducing more Iron. Be sure your Total Alkalinity levels are 80-120 ppm.

For your house, consider finding a water purification company that can install a system to reduce or stop the Iron from coming in.

Got it. It’s on autofill for the pool/ so comes with sprinkler system every time water level low. Alk has been ok. Just ph always at 8 no matter what. But sounds like it’s not related to that - have had a hard time finding anything to use because it’s below water line so any pumice or anything else just dissolves. Does this chemical only work when scrubbed on?

Thank you for the info!

Sounds like you have a saltwater system. That will drive up the pH and the Alkalinity. There are automated chem feeders that feed acid as needed to maintain the proper level. Perhaps a consideration.

Your Calcium Hardness should be held around 200-400 PPM

An overall balanced pool allows the chemicals to work in harmony.

You need to maintain the water level wherever the stain is. This chemical needs no scrubbing to remove the stains. Pour it directly into the pool around the perimeter. Do not pour directly onto the surface. I would get a couple of quarts. Try one quart initially and watch the results.