We filled our new in-ground chlorine pool about five months ago and have experienced streaks and dark spots all over the plastered areas from the beginning. The bottom/flat areas show the most problems The type of plaster we specified was Diamond Brite Blue Quartz. We have followed and done everything the pool builder asked us to do, have checked the chemicals at least twice a week yet the problem seems to be getting worse. Has anyone else experienced this type of problem and is there a solution? Thanks

Sept. 30, 2009
Sorry to be so late getting out the following information:
The pool is a 25,000 gallon in-ground pool with cartridge filter, pool cleaner, attached spa and pumps for the pool/spa and pool cleaner with inline chlorine tablet tube feeder. We have only used a chlorine based chemical treatment from the beginning and my wife has tested the water at least twice a week since it finished filling. We have maintained all the chemicals at the recommended levels and checked our water testing performance at least one per month at our pool chemical supply store. Their test results and suggested program is a good match for what we are doing. The supply water has been checked and there are no unusual metals or other concerns per the pool chemical supplier. The stains can be best described as streaks and smudges but we have noted that there were some tennis shoe foot print type discoloratons since the very beginning. On the side walls under the returns, the discoloration shows a narrow clear streak from the outlets to the floor of the pool where it appears to spread out, as if something happened before filling the pool and it left some kind of protection. Once it cools off and the usuage of pool is pretty much overwith for this year, the pool builder has decided to do an acid wash of the entire pool to remove the stains by a process which he has described as adding a lot of acid and keeping the pool PH like this for at least a week or two.
I am concerned that this could damage the plaster since there will be no way to check what is happening other than to see if it works. I asked him to contact Diamond Brite but he has so far refused and I can't locate a local representative or their Headquarters. I will appreciate any and all suggestions.

Hi, James,

Welcome to the forum. I have no experience with diamond-brite. Others will be along soon to offer advice.

What does your PB say about the issue?

I will be watching this thread too. We need to get our pool resurfaced, and Diamond Brite is one of the options we are considering.

sS

Do you have a photo or two showing the discoloration? Colored plaster is much more likely to show mottling and other imperfections than plain white marcite. If you have water test results, post them, too.

Merged threads. Butterfly


New user has a problem with discoloration of a new Diamond Brite plaster pool. Original post is in The Skimmer Basket: The catch-all for any topics not covered above » Introduce Yourself forum.

See Problems With New Diamond Brite plastered Pool

Sorry....no experience with diamond brite.

I saw a request for pictures in an earlier post; that would really help.

If I think I know what Diamond Brite is, it is a knock off of 3M's Color Quartz line (which is being discontinued completely by the end of the year), and probably for good reason. The product is over sold (all kinds of stories told of what to expect from it, but it cannot stand up to the stories!) and some applicators that could not get the 3M product had to find an alternative. Perhaps some of the problems that were occurring with Diamond Brite are similar.

Post up a couple of pics so we can see what you have going on.

Bruce

I have had your exact problem with Diamond Brite. From what I've been told, the streaks are fairly common. The black spots are not. I had the same problems with the black spots. A Diamond Brite representative came to my house and told me they will honor the warranty. The only problem is that they supply the product but the contractor has supply the free labor. My contractor has been great and has agreed to do this. I would contact SGM myself in your situation. You can google SGM (that's who makes the product) and it will come up. The SGM stands for Southern Grout & Mortar. Call them and ask to leave a message for technical support. The guy I dealt with is out of Dallas. I live in south Louisiana. The guy from SGM I dealt with is very nice. It just depends on where you live as to what representative you deal with. I had the Marlin Blue color and had my pool refinished in June of 2008.

Acid washes are in an empty pool.
Acid bathes are in a full pool. The pH of the water is dropped to about a 5.8-6.2 range for several days to two weeks, until the desired results are achieved. Someone will need to brush once or twice a day. The finish will be recreaming because of the low pH. The stains will dissolve away. Do not use the heater. If possible, bypass the heater.

Scott
PoolGuyNJ

Sorry to hear about your problem.

I recently completed my pool with super blue diamond brite and have not had any problems. As PoolGuyNJ suggested maintaining the PH level and brushing is critical for this type of finish.

Hope you get this corrected.

I did everything I was suppose to when I had my pool refinished. The brushing and the testing of the water. At first, I thought I had black algae but it's not algae of any kind. I did all of the stain/metal stain id tests available and it wasn't any type of metals.

The guy from SGM-Diamond Brite couldn't figure out what happened that made the black spots appear. I guess he knew what problems the finish has when the basics have not been done. I guess my problems didn't look like that or he wouldn't be honoring the contract and supplying the product for free. Of course, the pool contractor is supplying the labor for free. I guess I'm lucky I didn't have any problems with him either. My pool contractor has been great about returning my calls, etc. through all of this. The pool contractor and the crew that actually did it could not figure it out. They said they had never seen anything like it either. I still wish I could figure it out. It looks like little black specs got into the mixture and bled out onto the product once it set.

Check the plaster team's mixer.

Scott
PoolGuyNJ

Good call! Could very well be left over clumps of black dye that is letting loose or wasn't properly mixed. I've seen this happen, and I've even seen the trowelers "drag" the dye on the finish.

Great call Scott!

Bruce

That was a great call about the mixer! I'll have to check out when they come to re-plaster. I'm not sure where the black dye you are talking about would be coming from though.

The dye could have come from the previous job after poor washout or if the paddles in the mixer have rubber squeegees that are wearing out or the axle was recently greased and a seal leaked. There are lots of possibilities here.

Scott
PoolGuyNJ

I had similar problem with Sunstone plaster...PB + contractor agreed to do an acid bath to even out the color... did not work, I am stuck with a pretty ugly plaster job (noticeable when water is calm or at night with lamps on)..I should have insisted to get the pool emptied and the plaster re-done (I believe they did not do the acid wash when plaster was applied)....Acid bath was a pain and I had to clean cartridges 1 month after installed (plaster dust due to acid).

Bottom line, stick to your guns and insist on get the job done to your satisfaction...

Not that you didn't get a bad job (and I'm not a fan of Sunstone anyway!), but critiquing your pool at night with the lights on will never be an acceptable means of grading a plaster job. Take a light and lay it on your driveway or your walls in your home when it is dark and see how good of a job those tradesmen did on their work. Anytime you shine a light on a darkened surface all of the surface imperfections appear, and it has no value on quality of work.

Hope that clarifies a little bit. Again, not saying you didn't get a bad job, but you truly will get nowhere utilizing the "nights and lights" approach to a good or bad job!

Bruce

I'd say that SGM and the PB are doing things right for poodlegirl.

Serge, what were your expectations, what expectations were set, and what expectations were not met?

I understand the color issue. Do you have a picture?

Were there other unmet expectations?


Scott

To clarify to "simicrintz", I understood there would be texture details and that is ok with me. What I have is a color discrepancy that goes beyond reasonable..When you look down the bottom of the pool, you can almost see what appears to be foot prints in the plaster...I am not unreasonable, but I believe the plaster should look somewhat homogeneous (color wise) and without clear/dark spots.

In terms of my expectations, I was hoping for a good homogeneous color throughout the pool..I am looking at the sunstone web page to see if I even got the plaster I had ordered in original plan...In any case, i have turned that page. I'll know better next time.

PS: I am hoping that the weekly addition of acid to lower the PH will somehow ease the color problem in the long run.