Just opened her up. Water is crystal clear. However my railings are burnt or color transfered from the winter cover. Anyone experience this before or know of a way to get it off. Tried magic eraser and 91proof rubbing alcohol and both didn't work. Pool is only 2 years old. Looks awful.
AGP Winter Cover Burnt/Color Transfered to Vinyl Railing.
- Thread starter the_garz
- Start date
Well, at least the water looks good! You might try some white polishing compound and see if that takes it off. Test it on an inconspicuous area first. Goof off was another product recommended to clean vinyl.
Decoy205
Silver Supporter
that’s unfortunate! Was the cover brown on the bottom? Usually the cover has a black bottom blue black or greenish top. Maybe it was installed upside down? The other thought is maybe there is iron in the water and when condensation collected above the rails the iron stayed behind?
Did you try diluted chlorine?
Did you try diluted chlorine?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,747
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Try 50/50 bleach/water with the magic eraser - let it dwell a few minutes before scrubbing.
If that doesn’t do it try barkeepers friend (the cream) let it sit on a spot a few minutes & see if it changes. Wipe it away then rinse well.
The brown looks like iron (BKF solution) but the black has me thinking mildew (bleach solution) …
If it’s oxidation (burned as you say) you may can attempt peroxide. (Creme Hair developer works best & is easier to work with than the stuff in the brown bottle)
If that gets in the pool it will lower your fc so avoid getting it in there. People do this to refurbished old yellowed & browned plastic electronics.
use peroxide soaked paper towels/rags then cover with saran wrap so it stays wet & let the sun help for a day. Remove wipe & rinse. Here’s the how to
I would probably try all three things in different spots to see what works. Use gloves 
with all these methods!! Adding saran wrap is also helpful with each method to prevent running & evaporation.
After removing the discoloration you’ll want to protect/restore the finish so apply some 303 aerospace protectant. You can just spray it on a rag & wipe it on . It will soak it up most likely.
I am perplexed! Let us know if any of these work & your outcome.
If that doesn’t do it try barkeepers friend (the cream) let it sit on a spot a few minutes & see if it changes. Wipe it away then rinse well.
The brown looks like iron (BKF solution) but the black has me thinking mildew (bleach solution) …
If it’s oxidation (burned as you say) you may can attempt peroxide. (Creme Hair developer works best & is easier to work with than the stuff in the brown bottle)
If that gets in the pool it will lower your fc so avoid getting it in there. People do this to refurbished old yellowed & browned plastic electronics.
use peroxide soaked paper towels/rags then cover with saran wrap so it stays wet & let the sun help for a day. Remove wipe & rinse. Here’s the how to
with all these methods!! Adding saran wrap is also helpful with each method to prevent running & evaporation.After removing the discoloration you’ll want to protect/restore the finish so apply some 303 aerospace protectant. You can just spray it on a rag & wipe it on . It will soak it up most likely.
I am perplexed! Let us know if any of these work & your outcome.
It's a regular winter cover. Black and Blue with wench. Black side went down as instructed, blue side up. Wilbar the manufacturer is replacing with a 10% service charge of the list price for the replacement parts. 14 parts in total. Plus the cost of shipping. They neglected to respond to my concern of it continuing to happen, again. They also do not provide/carry upgraded or steel top-rails for my pool. After year four it's pro-rated replacement parts pricing. Next pool purchase will be more thoroughly investigated. Not pleased to drop hundreds of dollars on parts that shouldn't have to be replaced so suddenly at my expense. And to not have any future protection or insight from the manufacturer to make sure I don't have to pay to replace the part over and over.
Try 50/50 bleach/water with the magic eraser - let it dwell a few minutes before scrubbing.
If that doesn’t do it try barkeepers friend (the cream) let it sit on a spot a few minutes & see if it changes. Wipe it away then rinse well.
The brown looks like iron (BKF solution) but the black has me thinking mildew (bleach solution) …
If it’s oxidation (burned as you say) you may can attempt peroxide. (Creme Hair developer works best & is easier to work with than the stuff in the brown bottle)
If that gets in the pool it will lower your fc so avoid getting it in there. People do this to refurbished old yellowed & browned plastic electronics.
use peroxide soaked paper towels/rags then cover with saran wrap so it stays wet & let the sun help for a day. Remove wipe & rinse. Here’s the how to
I would probably try all three things in different spots to see what works. Use gloves
After removing the discoloration you’ll want to protect/restore the finish so apply some 303 aerospace protectant. You can just spray it on a rag & wipe it on . It will soak it up most likely.
I am perplexed! Let us know if any of these work & your outcome.
The cream hair developer and bar keeps sounds interesting. I'll attempt this once my replacement arrives sometime in July. 6-8 weeks for parts. SMH. I don't want a bigger eyesore if it does more damage than good. I've tried also CLR outdoor furniture cleaner that's foam, which did nothing.
I was thinking of adding some sort of protectant like automotive clear coat from a body shop to the replacements. Maybe those ceramic quartz coatings for cars, that supposedly last a year or two. Aerospace 303 needs to be reapplied more frequently, no? I'm not sure if those automotive tricks will protect the color transfer/burn. I'm figuring it'll be less porous so it should help.
Someone elsewhere stated they believe it's from chlorine gases that were trapped under the tarp. Maybe next year I should leave it open in a corner until it freezes? I raised the FC up to 20ppm from 5ppm maintenance level. I let it circulate a day uncovered before closing her up. I don't really want debris to make their way into the pool, but heck I'll clean up debris vs this trying to fix this nonsense.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,747
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Decoy205
Silver Supporter
Yes, they're Resin Top Rails. I am going to certainly look into the best UV protectant clear coat I can put on it at the end of the season to help. Shrink wrap may work, i am just so paranoid of anything that can melt or adhere to it from heat if it's a burn type issue.Are the top rails resin? Should have asked that first
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,747
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I think the ceramic coating is a good idea, its not permanent but should definitely last much longer than the 303. I had totally forgotten about it, its gotten more affordable recently.
Do you have some low e windows nearby that might be reflecting on the cover? We’ve seen some burn holes in covers.
Do you have some low e windows nearby that might be reflecting on the cover? We’ve seen some burn holes in covers.
It's relatively protected from reflections. I have a fence on 2 sides of it and a deck on the other 2 sides.
Yeah, researching it. Ceramic quartz coating should be a nice way to protect it. I'm certainly going to invest into getting a custom vinyl tarp made with high uv and flame retardant protection. I'd rather drop $200-300 on a custom tarp and pay $70-100 a year to protect it, then the crazy prices the MFR wants for a defect they aren't going to fix from happening again.
Hopefully it'll stop it from baking the color onto it. I'm also going to leave the corner of the tarp open this year when I close until it's Nov. Let it air out, incase it could've been the chlorine gases that couldn't escape as per one pool pro's thoughts. I can't risk this every year, it's an eyesore and even more expensive to replace once this warranty goes pro-rated.
On the bright side of all this, I am super pleased with how effortless opening and closing was when properly balanced. Looks like day one. Love the TFP method and TF-100 kit.
Attachments
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,747
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
I close at slam level for my cya which is 32ppm, upon opening I usually still have 12-15ppm fc & have never experienced this. I do leave my skimmer open. Is yours blocked off? I also get plenty of breeze air that goes up under my cover as most people do since it gets in under the top rails. I just use the cable that comes with the cover & some binder clips here & there to help keep the flapping down. I don’t/cant use the saran wrap stuff because I have a deck.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,747
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Yes, i figured all the wind would've taken care of gasses, but who knows. It's a straightforward winter pool cover. Used it before, but who knows after pandemic the manufacturing could've changed to a lesser quality with the cover or the railings.
Also i leave my skimmer basket covered for the winter.
Closing day, the rails where beautiful and so was the water. lol. Cover was tight. I used the winch cable. I also used gallon jugs filled with water on the floor tied to grommet on each corner, to make sure it's not gonna slip up from high winds. Cover didn't budge at all.
Attachments
Maybe it was the net or the paracord I used to tie the net to the railing. Or the exercise ball. They're all new as of last year. Maybe they let off some sort of colored gas from the chlorine/pool's evaporation under the cover? I am at a loss, but I am certainly not going to use this method again and just stick to strictly pool manufactured equipment and seal these railings. I used this method in the past and was fine, but who knows how things are being manufactured now-a-days.
If you are getting replacement top rails you could save the old ones and use them in the winter. Then it won't matter if they get stained by the cover.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,747
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
This right here!!!! 
Big brain game going on. I mean this would add a bit of extra work to opening and closing process. Also I use a waterproof LED strip light mounted to the underrails. I'd like to avoid having to take it down and reapply seasonally.Honestly it's not a terrible idea and might be worthwhile to consider when closing time comes around. Thank you for this.
Did you ever find a way to restore them? I have exactly the same issue! I guessed it was the hot choline gas reacting with the plastic railing we still have some warm days when the nights are too cold to keep the water warm. I am always surprised how HOT it gets under that cover when it's sunny. Anyway did any of the ideas for restoring the railing work (i.e. 50% bleach solution)? Thanks!!
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,747
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
This is crazy & sounds like a defect in the covers or the rails.
I have always closed at slam level for my cya which is usually 28ppm fc or higher as my cya is usually 70/80. I too have resin rails. I use the cheapest cover I can find.
Here in the south we get quite a few hot spells during the winter as well & this has never happened. I have gotten a little mildew imbedded in the resin as it has aged & oxidized (gotten chalkier).
The closest thing I can imagine happening (& there’s been several reports of this here on tfp) is the sun’s reflection from low e windows causing that part of the cover to really heat up. Some people have had covers catch fire/get a hole burnt in them from this.