New Pool - Stonescapes finish has dark streaks

[New Pool TX]

Hello all! I am new here and a first time pool owner. We just had a pool finished last week. My issue is I am seeing blotches or streaks of darker/bluer finish in the plaster which is Aqua Blue Mini Stonescapes plaster. I have brushed as I am supposed to except for the day of the Artic Blast. I don’t think brushing is going to get those finishes out. I wasn’t present at the time for the acid wash so I went back and watched some video of the 2 gentlemen that came to perform the acid wash prior to filling the pool, it doesn’t look like any brushing or draining was going on. Looked like he was just pouring and rinsing. From other threads I have read, I may need to add more Muriatic acid anyway but will that help at all or does the finish need to be redone? Not sure if this caused an issue but the plaster was applied in 30-40 degree weather. TIA

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

I can't tell if what I am seeing is roughness in the plaster or swirls and reflections in the water.

Mottling is typical quality now especially with blue and dark plaster.

I would not do another acid wash. If you can talk the Plaster company into draining the pool and using power sanders with diamond pads to sand the plaster it may smooth it and even out the color.

Plaster Installation and Maintenance - Further Reading

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

 

[New Pool TX]

Thank you for the reply. The lighter colored areas are what I am concerned about but may just be mottling as you mentioned. I meet with the PB this week and will see what they suggest.

 

[atxjmy512]

I have a stonescapes finish and I definitely have color variation. In my case - it seems to do with how well they mixed the pebbles. In some cases - they didn’t do it so well and I have concentration of one color or another that makes it look like streaking.

 

[New Pool TX]

I have a stonescapes finish and I definitely have color variation. In my case - it seems to do with how well they mixed the pebbles. In some cases - they didn’t do it so well and I have concentration of one color or another that makes it look like streaking.

That may be the case with mine as well but it looks like it wasn’t rinsed thoroughly exposing the stones. I’ll see what the PB says tomorrow. Hopefully it’s an easy fix.

 

[ferretbone]

That's whats left of the "cream" while color plastering. While the plaster is being trowled as it hardens the white/lighter "cream" works it's way to the top and is scooped up and slapped into a bucket. Yours isn't bad at all, you could spend a little more money and have the plaster polished if you expect a hand made job by a crew of 5 to be absolutely perfect, or leave it alone and let it even out over time.

 

[atxjmy512]

That may be the case with mine as well but it looks like it wasn’t rinsed thoroughly exposing the stones. I’ll see what the PB says tomorrow. Hopefully it’s an easy fix.

I had some of that as well, it does improve with brushing over time. The color concentrations though...

 

[Toxophilite]

It actually looks pretty normal for that color pebble finish. Mottling is just part of it. I will say for mine, after about 10 months it more evened out. More noticeable in shaded condition, but you can't see it at all with pool lights or direct sun.

 

[atxjmy512]

It actually looks pretty normal for that color pebble finish. Mottling is just part of it. I will say for mine, after about 10 months it more evened out. More noticeable in shaded condition, but you can't see it at all with pool lights or direct sun.

That's a good call out.... I don't notice much if any color variation in direct sun or pool lights either. It's almost exclusively something I notice during overcast or shade.