EcoFinish on top of gel coat?

[TheDokes]

I have a Sylvan pool that was originally gunite.
About 17 years ago I purchased and installed a fiberglass kit to resurface. The kit contained 4ft wide strips of fiberglass which were glued onto the surface and then (I believe) a gel coat was applied as a final surface.
The product has held up well however now is showing signs of needing resurfacing. The company that I bought the kit from, UGlassit ?, is no longer listed so I'm unsure of the final coat.

As I suspect the surface is a gel coat, can EcoFinish be applied over that?

What kind of cost am I looking at for a EcoFinish pool approximately 39x24 - 4800sq ft?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If you search the forum for ecofinish and fiberglass you will get a couple of threads that were complete horror stories. I suggest not doing it. Get the fiberglass striped down to the original gunite shell and replaster from there.

Ecofinish works well as a new surface product. As a remodel surface, it’s sketchy at best.

 

[bradgray]

If you search the forum for ecofinish and fiberglass you will get a couple of threads that were complete horror stories. I suggest not doing it. Get the fiberglass striped down to the original gunite shell and replaster from there.

Ecofinish works well as a new surface product. As a remodel surface, it’s sketchy at best.

Matt, excluding the fiberglass situ above, I think I had read that it works well as an alternative to replastering here on TFP; has that wisdom changed or did i misread? I think it was a long thread with a "bdavis" or similar.

I just want to be sure I understand if it's the circumstance or the product that's an issue in this case.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Matt, excluding the fiberglass situ above, I think I had read that it works well as an alternative to replastering here on TFP; has that wisdom changed or did i misread? I think it was a long thread with a "bdavis" or similar.

I just want to be sure I understand if it's the circumstance or the product that's an issue in this case.

As far as the reporting on TFP goes, EcoFinish only goes well when it’s applied in a new build scenario or a complete chip out, replaster, and then EcoFinish. In cases where it’s been used to cover over old plaster or fiberglass, the results are spotty at best. Surface prep is the key and most of the applicators don’t spend enough time on surface prep to make the coating work. Fiberglass is particularly problematic as there can be serious adhesion issues which leads to the EcoFinish bubbling up and spalling. On the case of the OP’s pool, it’s a concrete/plaster shell that had a thin overlay of fiberglass applied to it. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen once the EcoFinish flamethrower hits it. It would be best to simply chip everything out down to concrete shell and replaster the pool. EcoFinish could be added on top of the new plaster if desired.

All in, that’s easily going to cost over $12k and probably closer to $16k. At that point, just getting a premium plaster refinish would cost roughly the same.

 

[TheDokes]

If you search the forum for ecofinish and fiberglass you will get a couple of threads that were complete horror stories. I suggest not doing it. Get the fiberglass striped down to the original gunite shell and replaster from there.

Ecofinish works well as a new surface product. As a remodel surface, it’s sketchy at best.

Thanks, I'll take that into consideration.
My reluctance in replastering is seeing those cracks and chips in the walls again.
After resurfacing with fiberglass and gel-coat in 2006 had zero problems until last year.
I also found a greater cost, and effort, in chemicals when it was gunite.
I take it replastering - with Diamond Brite, is the least inexpensive vs AquaGuard 5000 or EcoFinish.
Any thoughts?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Thanks, I'll take that into consideration.
My reluctance in replastering is seeing those cracks and chips in the walls again.
After resurfacing with fiberglass and gel-coat in 2006 had zero problems until last year.
I also found a greater cost, and effort, in chemicals when it was gunite.
I take it replastering - with Diamond Brite, is the least inexpensive vs AquaGuard 5000 or EcoFinish.
Any thoughts?

The chips and cracks would be cosmetic and not structural. If that happened, then something wrong was done to the pool. Pool water chemistry is no harder to manage on any surface. Since you appear to be new to this forum, I think you’ll find the TFPC Method of pool care does away with a lot of the “problems” you had. I have had a plaster pool for over 10 years now with a salt water chlorine generator and it has been easy to manage. I live in the dry desert so any issues I have are with calcium hardness and pH control. The only chemical I ever add regularly to my pool is muriatic acid and, since keeping the water balanced properly and adding a water softener to my fill line, I add acid maybe once every 7-10 days. That’s it. Nothing else.

I suggest you go with a simple plaster surface. Strip the pool back to the gunite shell, make any repairs needed (there probably aren’t any) and then replaster. If you follow TFP the worst you’ll have to do is add acid regularly as new plaster surfaces tend to need lots of acid for the first year or so. MA is a cheap.

 

[TheDokes]

Thanks Matt, very insightful and helpful.
I have bids for replastering $ 17K and Aquard Guard $20k - both require stripping off the fiberglass sheathing.