My new-to-me pool is apparently a poured concrete bowl with a fiberglass top trim. The paint has worn off most areas and has been allowed to stain an ugly tan/orange color. Ascorbic acid will slowly remove it but the AA treatment isn't strong enough (despite tripling the AA).
I guess I could just leave it as-is until I can afford to fix it properly (plaster) which would be years. I don't want to paint it.
My other option is to drain and acid wash it. The staining is removed with 50/50 water and Muriatic acid based on my test area. I was then thinking of removing the rest of the paint and smoothing the whole surface with wet-grinding using diamond abrasive disks. In a small test area this alone made a dramatic improvement from orange and rough to pristine white, polished-concrete-like smoothness - as seen here:
Large pic, click to view
http://i.imgur.com/bRdT7bX.jpg
(note: it's so rough that only a small portion of the "peaks" were worn down to reveal a smooth white surface)
What would likely happen to exposed, polished concrete, provided the water chemistry is kept in check? What would happen to the water with exposure to concrete?
It may not be ideal but it's practically free for me to try ($50 in acid, $50 in abrasives and $150 to refill). Is it a foolish plan? It certainly can't end up looking worse... lol
I guess I could just leave it as-is until I can afford to fix it properly (plaster) which would be years. I don't want to paint it.
My other option is to drain and acid wash it. The staining is removed with 50/50 water and Muriatic acid based on my test area. I was then thinking of removing the rest of the paint and smoothing the whole surface with wet-grinding using diamond abrasive disks. In a small test area this alone made a dramatic improvement from orange and rough to pristine white, polished-concrete-like smoothness - as seen here:
Large pic, click to view
http://i.imgur.com/bRdT7bX.jpg
(note: it's so rough that only a small portion of the "peaks" were worn down to reveal a smooth white surface)
What would likely happen to exposed, polished concrete, provided the water chemistry is kept in check? What would happen to the water with exposure to concrete?
It may not be ideal but it's practically free for me to try ($50 in acid, $50 in abrasives and $150 to refill). Is it a foolish plan? It certainly can't end up looking worse... lol