Help! White Plaster vs Colored Plaster...

[Plaster Mania]

We just moved into a home with a pool. Unfortunately it seems we need to resurface the pool; at this time we are going to go ahead and change out the chipped tile. Like many people we are trying to get the “biggest bang for our buck” with this unexpected immediate cost. We were just going to go with white plaster, however, it was suggested to us to go with gray (along with cloud blue tile). I have done a lot of research and I find mottling is the biggest complaint but I am not so sure this is a bad thing. I have read that gray plaster will offer a deeper color of blue? Any opinions and/or suggestions would be absolutely appreciated. This is my first pool and I am feeling a bit intimidated. If anyone would like to offer any suggestions on tile color (in the event we go with gray plaster) then I won’t be upset! We have hard water so I do know we don’t want to go with a dark colored tile due to the “white water line”.

Thank

[muss08]

Colored plaster is wonderful if mixed and applied correctly. I've seen it come out perfect and I've seen it look pretty bad with uneven colors. I've seen it look "marbled" which apparently means it wasnt mixed properly but I personally like this look. Grey looks very nice as does a deep blue.

[Plaster Mania]

Thank you musso8. Is it a dark blue as in you can't see the bottom of the deep end or is the bottom still clear and visible?

[muss08]

It is a dark blue but you can always see the bottom. On any color pool the only reason you wouldnt see the bottom is bad water clarity. You can see the bottom in black plaster pools.

[GUEST]

I have been plastering pools for 25 years and i recommend a diamond brite..
The variation in color is not due to inappropriate mixing, it is due to the dye not actually changing the color of the cement at a molecular level and when not properly troweled or done during a sunny day, it will show ...

[ariciaga]

We just moved into a home with a pool. Unfortunately it seems we need to resurface the pool; at this time we are going to go ahead and change out the chipped tile. Like many people we are trying to get the “biggest bang for our buck” with this unexpected immediate cost. We were just going to go with white plaster, however, it was suggested to us to go with gray (along with cloud blue tile). I have done a lot of research and I find mottling is the biggest complaint but I am not so sure this is a bad thing. I have read that gray plaster will offer a deeper color of blue? Any opinions and/or suggestions would be absolutely appreciated. This is my first pool and I am feeling a bit intimidated. If anyone would like to offer any suggestions on tile color (in the event we go with gray plaster) then I won’t be upset! We have hard water so I do know we don’t want to go with a dark colored tile due to the “white water line”.

Thank

I hope im still on time to make a suggestion. i recommend the Tahoe blue, because the materials resistance is excellent. It doesn't heat the water for not being so dark as the midnight blue might.
What you definitely should not do is add color to the white plaster, because the sun eats up the color unevenly in less than a year. Although my company has the white plaster with color available, i tell my sellers not to recommend it because it creates conflict with the house owners.
We are at your service to help you out with any questions and to consult you.

[czechmate]

I strongly agree with GUEST. Go with DiamondBrite.
Interestingly, the color of water is just a windfall benefit of much larger gain, which is a surface hardness and nice resistance to algae adherance. I have described the superiority of this quartz based plaster in couple of my previous posts. I also pointed out minor things in some loss in uniformity, that depend largely on a crew skill and workmanship. I have some and it is the last thing I worry about.
Just one more note of caution.
Some of the hardest thing in colored plaster application is uniformity in mixing and troweling gray.
I would discourage you, but at the end of the day it is your decision.
Over the years I learned to work percentages of a potential results and the gray plaster has a real low one.
Pool re-plaster cost are in a range of 3,000-6,000 bucks. It is not like changing your wrong pick on the latex in your dining room.( People tend to forget that when they get exited in a show room).

Good luck!!

[DRWilliams]

It would be interesting to find out what the author of this thread did at the time, and later.

In any event, it's worthwhile to make a comment on colored plaster.

First, the National Plasterers Council, the professional organization for pool plasterers, created a colored plaster disclaimer about fifteen years ago that was intended to be part of the contract and make clear the problems associated with the product.

The existence of such a document is ample indication that there are problems.

Those problems are visual in nature, not functional, and break down into three areas:

1. Color variation do to variations in the colored plaster batches or variations in finishing.

2. Color fading.

3. Surface deposits.

The problems with colored plaster are one of the primary reasons that most colored finishes on the market today rely on colored aggregates for most or all of the color element.

[czechmate]

Small variation in different batches does not a make a product inferior.
It exists in tile product among others and it is something experienced tradesman handles all the time.
It is up to the contractor to make sure he loaded maximum of same lot bags.
If there is a couple odd ones it can be added in to a mix of 20- 40 others.

Color fading in quartz is practically non existent.

Surface deposits cannot be contributed to the products like DiamondBrite, rather to improper start-up, failure to acid wash the the plaster milk/residue of the surface and more probably not maintaining a safe calcite saturation index.
You did not mention here how you gonna plaster your fiberglass or what you plan is, though.

[allclearpools]

Colored plaster has tendency to raise your pool's calcium level. Watch that level and your PH level. High PH will cause scalling which the mottling everyone sees. Some plaster products are inferior. The way they trail the surface and temperature do play a role also. Last but not least the start-up procedure along with brushing the pool properly by the customer goes a long way! So be prepared to brush at least 3 times a day the first 3 days. The more you brush the pool the first day helps a tremendous amount.

[kiwipool]

So you want a colored plaster finish, in the main this is done adding a Colored Oxide to the mix, this can also be in the form of a liquid some use printers ink.
By the nature of the pool industry the applicator will work out his profit factor so the option is to pick the base product that returns the best profit which is of course Marble to this add White Portland Cement, and to add a little lift to the finish throw in some Colored Quartz and yes it looks great, even better than it was.

You may even believe you have a Quartz Plaster, really you are being fooled. A good test to find out how good your plaster is is take a small amount put it in a glass and add some acid to it leave it for a couple of hours and see if any remains, you will find the marble acts like a creaming soda and disappears.

Now that is why Marble Based Pool Plaster is outdated and what the industry should be aiming for is a 100% Quartz based Plaster which means the only thing that can deteriorate over time is the Cement which means that who knows 10, 15, maybe 30 years from a pure Quartz Plaster is a possibility.

For 15 years I have been trying different products in an attempt to come up with a good plaster for Swimming Pools here in New Zealand and have found that almost any color that wont fade is possible.

What makes Quartz better is the fact it is very hard and inert where Marble is Porous and stains. This means that pool water treatment is more forgiving.

To sum up the industry likes the old and tried products and as yet the Plaster I have developed is awaiting a Distributor in the USA.

Another discovery i have made with Quartz is as a Filter Media, it is far better that Glass Sand or even Zeolite filtering down to 3 microns it even removes Iron (from rusty water pipes)

If you are interested in any form contact me email kiwipoo l@ vodafone.net. nz or

Norman.

[kiwi norman]

"NEWS FLASH'

Soon to be released into the USA is "ARMADILLO POOL QUARTZ" This swimming pool plaster is 100% Quartz using their own Colored Quartz, it uses no Oxides but there own recently developed very fine grains of Colored Quartz that is mixed with the natural White Quartz. Almost any color is possible.

The finish is Color fast, inert making pool chemistry simpler to manage, it has a greater stain resistance and is longer lasting than other plasters.

Interested in more and the distributors name in the USA email Norman; kiwipool@vodaphone.net.nz