Intro & advice request

[redlegwife]

We recently helped my mom with her pool build which started the week of July 1. Additionally we are doing our own pool in a few months.

In the meantime, we are trying to figure out what’s going on with this pool surface. It was “completed” 6 weeks ago. Still waiting for the heater to connect to spa, pipes in ground covered...very frustrating. This is our first pool but not my mom’s. The quartz is very uneven in color especially in the spa/hot tub. When we asked the PB (right after complete) he said it would level out From reading the forums, it seems we may need an acid wash? Hopefully this picture taken with shade is clear enough.

Thoughts?

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! I would be concerned as well. @JamesW or @onBalance any thoughts please?

In the meantime, here's some more info:

Plaster Start-Up Guides - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[onBalance]

It is not likely that the color will even out, and unfortunately, it will probably get worse.
It appears that there were some mistakes made. What kind of start-up process was used?
I would recommend sanding and polishing instead of an acid treatment. An acid treatment etches the plaster finish and will shorten the life-span. The PB should take care of this problem.

 

[redlegwife]

Thank you for the reply. We are inexperienced in pool building and unfortunately did not find this website until complete.
Could you give us some ideas of what mistakes could have been made? We would like to feel educated a bit more when discussing this with the PB.

 

[Texas Splash]

Red, I'm sure OB will be back at some point to address your last question. He's one of the best regarding plaster/concrete. In the meantime, here's a thread he assisted with that reminded me a bit of your scenario. It may not be exactly what you experienced, but it's a good discussion with a few other links in it to read. Might help give you a head-start on that education you mentioned. Best of luck!

Gray Mottling Plaster Discoloration

Gray (also spelled “grey”) or darkened blotchy or streaky discoloration of pool plaster (cement flatwork) is known to be caused by several improper plastering practices, including the addition of calcium chloride to the mix (even less than 2%), late hard or dry troweling, and sometimes a cement...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I am linking two excellent articles/posts by OnBalance, our cement & plaster guru: Perhaps something helpful here

A Plastering 'Watch List' - Water Shapes

Taking control of the plastering process is within reach of any quality-oriented designer or builder, declares Kim Skinner. To help you on your way, he offers this step-by-step guide to managing what should happen on site before, during and after plaster

watershapes.com

The Art of Good Pool Plaster Color

An attractive plaster color (other than white) is often preferred by pool owners. However, it is very difficult for plasterers to produce a uniform and consistent color. The reality is that there will always be some minor shading (mottling) and variation in the color and can never be uniform...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[onBalance]

Probably the best and most likely information that applies to your situation is the article "The Art of Good Pool Plaster Color"
And especially this particular paragraph below.

When a pool is plastered too fast, due to adding too much calcium chloride set accelerant, the plaster surface can display severe and irregular mottling, color fading, or white blotchiness, streaking, and spotting. Also, if other quality workmanship practices, such as proper troweling, trowel pass timing, water/cement ratio, refraining from wet troweling or propane torching, etc. are not followed, increased negative effects may plague the surface aesthetics. And understand that those ugly discoloration problems generally take a few months to worsen and become increasingly visible.

Excessive water troweling often results in color plaster turning whitish in various patterns after the pool is filled with water.
But to be sure, I am still wondering how the water was treated at first. Was an acid start-up used?

 

[redlegwife]

Probably the best and most likely information that applies to your situation is the article "The Art of Good Pool Plaster Color"
And especially this particular paragraph below.



Excessive water troweling often results in color plaster turning whitish in various patterns after the pool is filled with water.
But to be sure, I am still wondering how the water was treated at first. Was an acid start-up used?

Thanks for the information. An acid start up was not used. The PB is returning to do an acid bath.