Are you Happy w/ Your Custom Blend Pool Finish (StoneScape Mini Peeble)?

By the way I knew I had a photo somewhere from the NPT website gallery I downloaded because I liked the color, I finally found it on a old laptop. As it turns out the NPT website took the photo down from thier gallery but I still have it. Reason why I liked it was because it too was double pigment Aqua Blue but this pool has glass beads added as well. I knew this since the website titles each of their photo's in this way. This photo is why I went the direction I did.
StoneScapes Aqua Blue DBL Pigemnt with Glass Accents   Polished (3).jpg

edit: Now that I looked at this photo again posted here on this thread I see the pic kept the NPT label in tact. Put your mouse arrow over the picture and you'll see their labeling.
 
I wish there was more of this info available, referring to pics of pools with custom color info. What I became weary of is not to overlook how the depth of the pool will impact the color. Some sample pools my PB has sent me too really shine color wise because there deeper than mine (which is 6.2 feet, average about 3-4). Consequently, a plaster finish would show color better in a pool with shallow depths over pebble, given that the pebble texture diffuses light a lot more than the smooth surface of plaster. But I'm committed to the mini pebble.

Tomorrow, I'm off to see another tropics blue where the PB pulled back on the dye by about 1/2, and also has the iridescent glass beads that I will be adding to mine, so excited about seeing that.

if I had the guts to go with my own custom color, it would be to tweak the Tahoe blue...maybe reduce the sand, yellow pebble and introduce light blue pebble to get to a blueish grey color..or tweak the plaster color to achieve that. That is what my old plaster color was and I loved it. The Tahoe blue has a little too much drab or darker grey than I would like to see.

One set back today was that grout color on new waterline tile was way too light..PB is going to have the grout removed and replaced with a darker grey. I'm not upset about the delay...heck, I'm still running all over town and fretting over the color, which he is cool about.

But that pool color in your pic is about as blue as you'll ever see. My guess is that it has a fair amount of depth throughout to achieve that full, rich blue color.
 
Going through the same choices. We want a deep rich blue and have been leaning towards tahoe blue. With 3.5 - 5 foot depths we hope it turns out good. The mini pebble colors just seem either too light a blue, or a little too much greenish tinge. It also depends on the surrounding area and time of day etc. We saw a mini pebble brochure that showed the same pool at three different times of day and it looked a lot different each time. Hopefully we end up with the blueish version of tahoe.
 
I've found that choosing a finish based upon brochures, etc. to be misleading given that I see pics with the same finish, but all having varying shades of blue - some even with a very slight greenish hue (but not even close to a green color you see with a white plaster, for example). From seeing a few Stonescape mini pebble Tahoe Blue - many manufactures differ in their Tahoe color BTW - it will have just a hint of a slightly greenish hue mixed in to the blue. But blue will still be the dominant color your eye will see.

IMO, Stonescape Tropics Blue will be the darker blue you seek..but also, the overall look of the pool water will be darker, per my observations of these pools. Some ppl on this forum have mentioned this and I see what they mean.

But yes, time of day, shading, etc, very much factors into the pool color.

interesting that my camera phone of the pools I have photographed shows far richer pool colors than what I saw in person, ie, evidently, the camera pics up color the naked eye does not. I would see a pool finish, Tahoe Blue for example, and think that I'm seeing the pebble finish but not a lot of blue in the water (particularly the shallows). Later, I'd check out the pics I took of the pool and see loads more pool color that I did not see in person.

Good luck with your project.
 
Whatever I go with, I bought 5 lbs of clear/iridescent 3mm glass beads at a whopping $54 per pound from an glass art supply store back east. That and the abalone shell being hand cast will sparkle up whatever I end up with.

This is a great idea! Do you mind sharing the place where you bought these? Are they much different, if at all, from what the PBs use?
 
If you google The search terms "morezmore iridescent glass bubbles 3mm 1 lb" an eBay listing should be one of the first hits. But I see that seller has only two lbs left to sell(at $51 a lb). I bought 5lbs that should be enough to hand cast into into the spa and my baja shelf. Two pounds may be insufficient however to get adequate coverage except in a very small area - perhaps a spa. But you could supplement the beads With some crushed abalone to make up for this shortfall.

Thus was the only place besides China (alibaba) that I found selling it. China would only be selling by the ton and I am told by my PB that the pool suppliers all over have sold out. If you want to try a search, use all of the above mentioned search terms except the word moreezmore. You might try contacting the morezmore ppl however as I got an immediate email reply when I inquired about shipping. They were very helpful and shipping was amazingly fast.
 
This is a great idea! Are they much different, if at all, from what the PBs use?

Not sure but I believe the PBs only buy premixed bags of beads containing several color beads that are packaged by, and comprise the final finish of whatever pool finish product they install on a regular basis (either As part of the standard finish or as an upgrade to a standard finish). Could be wrong about that though.
 
Thank you for that information. Are you going this route because that's the only way to get glass beads at the moment (you mentioned the PBs are sold out) or is it a cost savings too? Do you know if using your own "add-ins" will affect your warranty?
 
Thank you for that information. Are you going this route because that's the only way to get glass beads at the moment (you mentioned the PBs are sold out) or is it a cost savings too? Do you know if using your own "add-ins" will affect your warranty?

I am adding the iridescent glass beads for the sparkle effect that is evident as well when abalone shell bits is added (some Stonecraft mini pebble finishes include abalone bits as part of their stock finish). Adding the glass beads enhances that effect - and the glass bead sparkle will last longer as I understand the abalone sparkle will diminish in a couple of years.

Most PBs will add more of the abalone, or add it in if its not already in the mix, and will usually hand cast the abalone and/or glass so it has less chance of being buried into the mix.

I have never heard of either additive affecting the warranty.
 

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He tried calling around to the bigger pool supply distributors and came up empty. His office manger then went online and also came up empty. My guess is that most pool customers doing new construction or replasters are not made aware of the option of adding glass beads and so don't ask for it, thereby making it less likely that these clear 3mm irridescent glass beads are stocked by pool supply companies. That's at least the case here in Southern California (and perhaps nationwide given my coming up empty after doing on an extensive nationwide Google search for these glass beads).
 
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