ecoFINISH aquaBRIGHT longterm review

[swimcmp]

ecoFinish is the actual name. Aquabright, polyFibro, ecodustrial are just the different lines of finish. That may be why he keeps saying ecoFinish instead of just saying Aquabright.

Matt the ecoFinish company tries to protect a dealer due to the investment a dealer has to make into equipment. That is why they limit competition at the beginning for new dealers.

 

[bdavis466]

That stinks.

Brian can certainly answer thisxwith more detail and company specific info as he is an installer but it all comes down to labor. A 5-Man crew can plaster 2-3 pools per day. An AB pool, if done with meticulous care, requires 2-3 days to complete and can eat up half a crew of guys (2-3 guys). So if you have to sacrifice that much labor and time for one pool, it’s going to cost the customer more. It’s sad that many installers will choose to not use existing plaster but I understand it - it looks worse than fresh plaster and inevitably leads to unhappy/angry customers.

It’s a great surface material but the parent company keeps the market restricted to make it profitable and there’s zero competition. So it’s monopoly rules.

Matt is correct. The materials are ridiculously expensive and time consuming to install. It would probably be a much more popular finish if it wasn't for the expense.

Plaster and Pebble are just too inexpensive in comparison in the Southwest US.

 

[Holiday]

Thanks for the information. Due to my new understanding we'll just be saving up for a few years and when I can't stand a white pool anymore we should have enough to have them come in and apply some AB to my backyard oasis.

 

[needsajet]

Brian, can you do that... say... put on a nice glass bead and plaster finish... enjoy it for 3/4/5 years, then go ecobright when you have the money? If not, could you do it with plain plaster instead?

 

[bdavis466]

Brian, can you do that... say... put on a nice glass bead and plaster finish... enjoy it for 3/4/5 years, then go ecobright when you have the money? If not, could you do it with plain plaster instead?

Absolutely but you'd be wasting your money if that's your intention with a Pebble/glass finish.

I've got a whole slew of people that"supposedly" did just that with white plaster

 

[voltrons_head]

I had an ecofinish installed in 2015 and have already had to use the warranty in the first year. It was peeling and flaking in my poolside spa and my swim out. The actual places that it was peeling wasn't noticeable but the flakes of plastic in my pool were. Pretty disappointing at a pool party to have people ask me what the blue flakes were in my spa.

Anyway, Carlton Pools came out and fixed it without hassle or hesitation. I still get some tiny blue flakes in the filter of my robot but you can't see them in the pool.

View attachment 74244

 

[voltrons_head]

I do wonder what it would take to remove the finish if it does ultimately fail. Knowing what they went through to get it on I'm pretty darn sure it wouldn't be easy or cheap.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

ecoFinish is the actual name. Aquabright, polyFibro, ecodustrial are just the different lines of finish. That may be why he keeps saying ecoFinish instead of just saying Aquabright.

Matt the ecoFinish company tries to protect a dealer due to the investment a dealer has to make into equipment. That is why they limit competition at the beginning for new dealers.

I know a couple plaster contractors who bought the rigs & mothballed them..

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I do wonder what it would take to remove the finish if it does ultimately fail. Knowing what they went through to get it on I'm pretty darn sure it wouldn't be easy or cheap.

A very labor-intensive chip-out of the underlying plaster down to the gunite shell. Once that epoxy resin coat hardens, it’s essentially impenetrable.

 

[voltrons_head]

A very labor-intensive chip-out of the underlying plaster down to the gunite shell. Once that epoxy resin coat hardens, it’s essentially impenetrable.

Yikes. Let's hope Carlton/EcoFinish (EcoFinish is a subsidiary of Carlton Pools) got it right this time.

 

[BattleOfYakima]

I had an ecofinish installed in 2015 and have already had to use the warranty in the first year. It was peeling and flaking in my poolside spa and my swim out. The actual places that it was peeling wasn't noticeable but the flakes of plastic in my pool were. Pretty disappointing at a pool party to have people ask me what the blue flakes were in my spa.

Anyway, Carlton Pools came out and fixed it without hassle or hesitation. I still get some tiny blue flakes in the filter of my robot but you can't see them in the pool.

Thank you for your review! To help us better collect data, if you feel comfortable posting or private messaging me the following please:
1) Did you handle startup chemistry or did they?
2) Have you managed the water since or a pool boy?
3) If you have done it, how strictly do you follow TFP recommendations?
4) Did you use a cover or keep it clean over the winter?

Thank you!!! I'm glad they're honoring the warranty, but sorry for your troubles. Still a beautiful pool area!

 

[bdavis466]

Failure of the surface has absolutely nothing to do with water chemistry. There is no startup with AquaBright.

Any failure is a direct result of the condition of the plaster in which it's applied or an installation issue.

Short of some sort of mechanical damage, there isn't much that can be done to cause a failure with the surface. It is always an issue with installation.

I've yet to see EcoFinish honor a warranty claim. Every issue I've come across was pinned on the installer.

 

[voltrons_head]

Thank you for your review! To help us better collect data, if you feel comfortable posting or private messaging me the following please:
1) Did you handle startup chemistry or did they?
2) Have you managed the water since or a pool boy?
3) If you have done it, how strictly do you follow TFP recommendations?
4) Did you use a cover or keep it clean over the winter?

Thank you!!! I'm glad they're honoring the warranty, but sorry for your troubles. Still a beautiful pool area!

1. There was no specific startup. Just fill and adjust the water accordingly.
2. I manage the water.
3. Frankly, with the swg there is very little that needs to be done to keep the water clear and balanced. I use shock on Mondays after a long weekend of swimming and run the robot twice a week. Occasionally adjust PH or add salt.
4. It is covered from October - mid-May.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

[voltrons_head]

I've yet to see EcoFinish honor a warranty claim. Every issue I've come across was pinned on the installer.

EcoFinish did my install and warranty repair though my point of contact for the purchase was the Carlton restoration dept. I should've been more clear. EcoFinish operates out of Carlton's HQ here in Warminster, PA so I'm just used to calling them Carlton since I've done other business with them as such.

 

[bdavis466]

EcoFinish did my install and warranty repair though my point of contact for the purchase was the Carlton restoration dept. I should've been more clear. EcoFinish operates out of Carlton's HQ here in Warminster, PA so I'm just used to calling them Carlton since I've done other business with them as such.

Carlton handled the repair because they were the installer. EcoFinish doesn't have any installers that work directly for them.

 

[voltrons_head]

It wouldn't surprise me if the guys in the EcoFinish trucks are just Carlton employees in EF t shirts. The EcoFinish warranty guy probably just walked down the hall and scheduled Carlton to do the repair for me. How they're working together behind the scenes is frankly irrelevant to me.

 

[Flying Tivo]

I can see why ecofinish has not honor a warranty, if you look at it strictly from a chemical point, the product works. If the installer did not heat it up to the proper temp, it sticks or not and its the installers fault not the product. If the plaster is not done correctly and the ecofinish sticks to it but the plaster fails its not the installers fault. So my point of view is that the product itself is a great product, but it depends on too many variables to give a great finish to the end user.

Felipe

 

[bdavis466]

I can see why ecofinish has not honor a warranty, if you look at it strictly from a chemical point, the product works. If the installer did not heat it up to the proper temp, it sticks or not and its the installers fault not the product. If the plaster is not done correctly and the ecofinish sticks to it but the plaster fails its not the installers fault. So my point of view is that the product itself is a great product, but it depends on too many variables to give a great finish to the end user.

Felipe

That is primarily why this finish will never be able to fully compete with plaster and pebble.

 

[Flying Tivo]

That is primarily why this finish will never be able to fully compete with plaster and pebble.

It could probably do so in a few years when the installers are more widespread and more experienced, but is in detriment of end user.

Felipe

 

[JoyfulNoise]

There’s always paint.....

Actually, there’s a roller or spray-applied epoxy product that comes in a few different colors that’s basically like an AquaBright finish except without the blow torch needed (although the technical installation guide read like a nightmare to me...). Same problem applies - if the underlying substrate is no bueno, all bets are off.

What is needed is a thick-build polymer material that can be applied directly to gunite and does a very good job at leveling the surface and filling in the roughness of the shell. If tiling could be setback a little into the shell, then a nice uniform transition could be possible.

Just need some intrepid polymer chemists to get their feet wet in the pool construction world ...