Re: still unable to get rid of some white spots on diamond b
Yes, all finishes have a few blemishes, but that is different from plaster jobs that have white spotting and streaking over various areas of the pool.
My DiamondBrite pool is virtually blemish free. The plastering company agreed (with me) to not add any calcium chloride and also no water finishing, and no late hard troweling. The pool was filled with water that had 240 ppm of alkalinity, 200 ppm of calcium, and the pH was 7.8, making the CSI about +0.4. I maintained it that way for three months. There was no plaster dust, no spotting, no streaking, and today, after 7 years of never draining the pool, it still looks great.
I agree with points 1 and 2 cited by ExpertWitness and the subsequent information on those issues.
But as far as hard troweling; there is a limit on how much one can “compact†the surface. As plaster hardens, it is forming cement “bonds†and is creating somewhat of a “honeycomb†effect. Therefore, it is difficult to compress and compact the plaster surface once hardening is taking place.
Furthermore, OVERLY HARD and LATE troweling can do two things that could be detrimental. One, it can break the cement bonds, which would weaken the product; and it can overly densify the surface, which can darken the color of the plaster. And again, adding water while troweling also breaks cement bonds and creates weakness, similar to what ExpertWitness stated above about adding too much original water to the plaster mix.
I also disagree with the suggestion of performing an acid treatment to improve the appearance of a poorly done plaster finish. How can adding one gallon of acid for every 2,000 gallons of water be good for a new plaster or quartz pool? And that book states that if that acid treatment doesn't work, just double the dosage of acid! How can removing 200 to 400 ppm of calcium (as is stated) from the plaster surface and etching the plaster surface be a good thing?
If the desire is to camouflage the plastering defect, then yes, an acid treatment may even out the color. But the fact is that the plaster finish will be etched and rougher than need be. I have seen many pools look very aged and stained within a year or two that had an overly acid treatment to correct the poor looking plaster job. I have also seen that acid technique not work and just make things worse. Does it benefit the pool owner if the pool needs replastering in a couple of years?
Don’t allow poor workmanship in the first place, don’t always assume that the plaster workmanship is always done properly, and don’t always assume it has something to do with an improper water chemistry start-up.
As for Aquatica's situation, since we don't have pictures, we really don't know what the problem is that he is dealing with, or what may be causing it. Much more information is needed.