pool plaster

[moving5]

We just had an in ground pool put in. When they did the plaster there were brown circular marks throughtout the whole pool. The plaster never appeared to be white. They filled the pool and have since told me this is all part of the curing process. They told me it would go away in a few months. Is that possible?

[Guest]

WHAT KINDOF FINISH DID THEY USE? DID THEY ACID WASH THE POOL BEFORE FILLING? DID THEY EXPLAIN TO KEEP THE PH DOWN AND BRUSH DAILY? SOUNDS LIKE THEY ARE TRYING TO PULL A FAST ONE BUT I DONT KNOW WHAT KIND OF FINISH YOU HAVE.

[moving5]

It was a white plaster . They told us when we wanted a pool built for the bluest water you need to stay with white plaster. Instead I have a pool with brown swirl marks thru out! It looks horrible. They kept telling me it is just curring. Luckily I took pictures before it ever had water in it and it shows all the marks. Yesterday they finlly admitted it will need to be drained and if they let the pool dry out, the marks will go away. They are calling them hydration marks. Does anyone know if this is true? Doesn't make sense to me the marks will just disappear. No acid wash was ever done.

[poolnerd]

I can't say without setting eyes on it, but it doesn't sound like curing is going to help. An acid wash may not help, but probably won't hurt either. Just make sure to wait for full cure (28 days) before applying acid, sanding, stuff like that.

Are these marks truly throughout whole pool, or mainly in one part, say shallow end walls and floor? Are they in any sort of pattern? Are they well-defined or kind of a smear? And are they actual circles, or just rough arcs? How big are they?

Answers to these questions could suggest a poor mix (perhaps impurities in plaster components), rusty "burner" trowels, and so on. Brown usually means rust, and if that's the case, the next thing is to try to find its source and figure out some sort of remediation.

Hope it all works out for you.