I have an older (2002) FG in ground pool that is surface coated with a white coating of some sort. The pool constantly clouds up after a robotic vacuum or brushing and the white matter generated is not filtered out by the filters. It stays that way for days and I can not see the pool drain which is at about 6' in depth. When I rub my hand along the side of the pool surface coating I release a white cloud of material and it is too small to be filtered out. Apparently the coating is "chalking". Is there anything that can be done to prevent this problem short of resurfacing the 10,000 gallon pool. ? Someone mentioned low calcium as a possible cause.
chalking issue in a Fiber glass pool in ground -
- Thread starter fredspool
- Start date
- Jun 24, 2021
- 17,047
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Welcome to TFP!!!
99 times out of 100, the “chalkiness” you see is NOT calcium scaling. It the breakdown/hydrolysis/oxidation of the clear gel coat on the FG surface. There is literally nothing you can do about this to stop it. All gel coats will begin to breakdown from the oxidative stress of water, chlorine, and UV. It’s simply the physics and chemistry of water and polymers.
The only way to restore it is to have the pool drained, the surface lightly polished to remove the porous layer and then a fresh gel coat applied. It’s, at best, impractical to do and would be extremely costly as it is mostly back-breaking labor. Anyone that owns a boat or a classic car knows how hard it is to keep these types of surfaces polished and cleaned (gel-coats on fiberglass are very similar to clear coats on cars).
@Texas Splash may have more weight on the subject...
99 times out of 100, the “chalkiness” you see is NOT calcium scaling. It the breakdown/hydrolysis/oxidation of the clear gel coat on the FG surface. There is literally nothing you can do about this to stop it. All gel coats will begin to breakdown from the oxidative stress of water, chlorine, and UV. It’s simply the physics and chemistry of water and polymers.
The only way to restore it is to have the pool drained, the surface lightly polished to remove the porous layer and then a fresh gel coat applied. It’s, at best, impractical to do and would be extremely costly as it is mostly back-breaking labor. Anyone that owns a boat or a classic car knows how hard it is to keep these types of surfaces polished and cleaned (gel-coats on fiberglass are very similar to clear coats on cars).
@Texas Splash may have more weight on the subject...
Hey there Fred! This can be a common problem, we've heard. @Texas Splash seems to have a good grasp on it, so I've invited him in to give his story.
Welcome to TFP
We hope you'll stick around.
Maddie
Welcome to TFP
We hope you'll stick around.Maddie
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,159
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Nothing more to add really. My story is linked below if you would like to review it. Welcome to TFP! 
www.troublefreepool.com
Fiberglass Discoloration (Faded & Chalky) - My Story
DISCLAIMER The following is a dialog of my own personal experience. Any processes used, chemically or otherwise, were performed strictly on my own without any recommendations from Trouble Free Pools. FUTURE POSTING I am trying to keep this thread streamlined with just my own progress for all...
www.troublefreepool.com
- May 23, 2015
- 25,786
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
What!? No citation?? No reference link!! I call copyright infringement!! Send me the contact info for your legal representative so I can send them a demand letter ….
- Jun 24, 2021
- 17,047
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
