Plaster Discoloration

[spy747]

Hello,
We recently completed the construction of our first pool in November 2019. During the planning phase, we had an option between a Pebble Tec or Quartz Scape product. In the end, we opted for Quartz Scapes Mariner Blue for the plaster finish. However, we're now regretting this decision as there is discoloration. The bottom of the pool just looks dirty, especially during cloudy days. The PB performed an acid bath twice which did nothing to improve the discoloration. I could speculate why it looks this way, but I have no idea and we continue to get the run around from the operations director from the company we used. Tomorrow we have a meeting with PB and the rep from the plaster company to discuss our concerns. I am interested in know if anyone else out there at TFP has experienced this issue with this type of product. It has been nearly 3 months and we're losing faith that it will improve over-time and that PB will correct to our satisfaction.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Unfortunately your plaster will not improve over time. Plaster is hand mixed and applied and has many variables that affect the quality of the job. Some projects end up better then others. We hear from the folks who are unhappy and rarely the happy ones.

The only real fix is a chip out and new plaster job. And then it may be better or may be worse.

You can read about causes in...

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Diagnosing Pool Plaster Problems

Plaster Discolorations – New white pool plaster can discolor (darken or turn gray) from adding excessive calcium chloride set accelerator, from late hard troweling, from thin and thick areas due to an uneven shell, etc. Gray (or grey) mottled discoloration (also known as “water entrapment” or...

www.troublefreepool.com

Being Blamed for Plaster Discolorations? Don't Get Hoodwinked

Some newly plastered pools (including quartz and pebble finishes) may develop either color fading, white soft spotting (also incorrectly called "spot etching" by some plasterers), white streaking (in colored plaster), calcium nodules, gray mottling discoloration (of white plaster), spalling...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[spy747]

Welcome to TFP.

Unfortunately your plaster will not improve over time. Plaster is hand mixed and applied and has many variables that affect the quality of the job. Some projects end up better then others. We hear from the folks who are unhappy and rarely the happy ones.

The only real fix is a chip out and new plaster job. And then it may be better or may be worse.

You can read about causes in...

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Diagnosing Pool Plaster Problems

Plaster Discolorations – New white pool plaster can discolor (darken or turn gray) from adding excessive calcium chloride set accelerator, from late hard troweling, from thin and thick areas due to an uneven shell, etc. Gray (or grey) mottled discoloration (also known as “water entrapment” or...

www.troublefreepool.com

Being Blamed for Plaster Discolorations? Don't Get Hoodwinked

Some newly plastered pools (including quartz and pebble finishes) may develop either color fading, white soft spotting (also incorrectly called "spot etching" by some plasterers), white streaking (in colored plaster), calcium nodules, gray mottling discoloration (of white plaster), spalling...

www.troublefreepool.com

Welcome to TFP.

Unfortunately your plaster will not improve over time. Plaster is hand mixed and applied and has many variables that affect the quality of the job. Some projects end up better then others. We hear from the folks who are unhappy and rarely the happy ones.

The only real fix is a chip out and new plaster job. And then it may be better or may be worse.

You can read about causes in...

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Diagnosing Pool Plaster Problems

Plaster Discolorations – New white pool plaster can discolor (darken or turn gray) from adding excessive calcium chloride set accelerator, from late hard troweling, from thin and thick areas due to an uneven shell, etc. Gray (or grey) mottled discoloration (also known as “water entrapment” or...

www.troublefreepool.com

Being Blamed for Plaster Discolorations? Don't Get Hoodwinked

Some newly plastered pools (including quartz and pebble finishes) may develop either color fading, white soft spotting (also incorrectly called "spot etching" by some plasterers), white streaking (in colored plaster), calcium nodules, gray mottling discoloration (of white plaster), spalling...

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks for the links, I will check them out this evening.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Wow, sorry to hear and I hope the PB is able to fix it to your satisfaction.

With that said, I think you have to prepare yourself to fight the PB for a full redo, which is the right thing to do, but will be costly on the PB. The alternative is to live with the discoloration and receive a discount on the pool from the builder. If you are willing to go that route, I would think of a $ figure that would make the discoloration palatable.

 

[PoolMyFinger818]

Any updates on your project? When did you first notice the uneven or dirty appearance - before they filled it with water, or much later after startup? We just had quartzscapes Mariner Blue installed, and noticed some blotchiness before filling it. For this quartzscapes finish, do they alway to an acid wash before filling it?

thanks!