Is this plaster peeling? Should I be worried?

[rxxlin]

Hi, I am a new pool owner (new owner, old pool) here and I am learning a lot from this nice community (Thanks!).

So my pool came with this peeling issue when we bought this house last year, but recently it started to get worse, probably because I drained some water and exposed the plaster. Pictures are attched. As you can see, there are newly exposed white areas and dirty gray areas.

I have several questions
1. Is this something concerning? Should I fix it? Is E-Z Patch #1 a good choice?
2. The green color of the surface seems to a result of an algea problem. Is there a way to turn it back to white?
3. My pool also has many "dark" spots like the one shown in the last picture (IMG_3497). What are them and what I should do?

Thanks

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

The "peeling" is called delamination of the plaster.

Your old pool had a second coat of plaster put on top of the first coat, and that second coat has worn thin and is delaminating.

The long-term fix is a full chipout of all the plaster down to the shell and a full replaster.

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

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If the pool is not losing water, it is a cosmetic problem, and you can use it until you replaster.

I would not bother putting EZ-Patch lipstick on it. It is not going to look good or fix the problem for any length of time.

Does your pool pass a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test? If not you need to follow our SLAM Process to get rid of the algae.

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[JamesW]

Looks like either paint or a very thin skimcoat of plaster.

 

[rxxlin]

That's a quick response. I will be sure to do the OCLT. Thanks a lot, @ajw22.

What about the "dark" spot in the last picture? Is that also cosmetic?

 

[ajw22]

What about the "dark" spot in the last picture? Is that also cosmetic?

I am not sure which spot you are asking about.

Deal with the algae first. Once that is done we can talk about stains on your pool.

Nothing is going to get it looking good other than a replaster.