Premature or uneven fading of the gelcoat surface of fiberglass pools is almost always due to improper care of the pool's water chemistry. This is especially true with salt water pools, as the chlorine generator often produces far more chlorine than needed.
In general, quality fiberglass finishes will start to experience some fading at the 8–12 year mark, but if the pool is well maintained it will still continue to look great for decades.
Fibreglass pools often pass through two phases as the surface begins to age. Firstly, it is normal for the gelcoat colour to slowly fade to white over the decades. This fading occurs because of chlorine, years of sunlight and water chemistry imbalances which all age the surface.
Fortunately, fiberglass pools are much more resistant to fading than some other types of pools — if they're well constructed like a Narellan Pools fiberglass pool, that is. The quality of the finishes used makes a huge difference to how well the color of your fiberglass pool will hold up.
Good news – SUPER EPOXY SYSTEMS has the answer! The pictures above were recoated on an old one piece fiberglass pool with a typical gel coat and started to fail the first year. After 5-years the entire pool now has the Super Epoxy product on it and was done as a DIY by one of our customers.
Dip a disposable paintbrush in the gel-coat mixture. Apply a layer of gel coat approximately 1/16 inch thick. Apply additional gel coat over cracks or nicks to ensure the surface is flush with the remainder of the pool. Repeat the process over the entire surface.
Epoxy pool paint is the only suitable material to paint a fiberglass pool. Buy enough to paint two coats for a long lasting finish. Measure your pool carefully to add up all the surface area of the floor, walls and steps, then buy more than enough Epoxy pool paint to cover the surface, twice.
Specific Fiberglass Pool Stain Strategy…
You can also use Comet® cleanser and a kitchen sponge. I once spent several hours using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser® (actually I used about 20 of them) and scrubbed each smudge until the gel-coat glistened like it had been restored.
Removing Calcium Silicate
If you have a fiberglass pool, a pumice stone will scratch. Your other option is to then use a professional calcium remover. It will dissolve the deposits. You should first test the product to make sure that it doesn't scratch or discolor the surface.
Calcium scaling is an unsightly white to white-grey stain that forms on pool sides when a pool's calcium levels and pH are imbalanced. Not to worry though, calcium scaling is an easy thing to prevent with regular water testing and balancing.
While there are many myths about fiberglass pools, the one thing you should NEVER EVER do is DRAIN your fiberglass pool without professional help. Let me say that again, NEVER drain your fiberglass pool for any reason. In fact, we recommend NEVER letting the water level drop more than 2-3 inches below the skimmer!
A white film forming on the walls of the pool is clouding the water. The white film is also filling the filter, and the filter has to be cleaned constantly.
Along with balancing the pH levels of your pool water, muriatic acid is strong enough to kill mold, remove rust stains, get rid of calcium deposits, and clean the surfaces of your pool.
Most fiberglass pools are known to last 25-30 years, but we take that to the next level. Our manufacturer, Narellan Pools, makes the best fiberglass pools around. Their unique fiberglass formula results in a pool that can last as long as 50 years! Plus, these pools are notoriously easy to maintain.
But a properly built Gunite pool can and should last for 100 years or more, with no risk of cracking whatsoever. We've been building Gunite pools for more than 40 years (more than 4000 swimming pools), and we've never had one crack yet.
You may use MA in a vinyl or fiberglass pool. The key to avoiding problems when adding the acid is by adding it very, very slowly, in front of a return jet while the pump is running.
Fiberglass pools can become etched and lose some of the gel coat gloss when Calcium Hardness levels are too low. Also known as a Corrosive water condition.
We do not recommend using CLR on or in any materials associated with a swimming pool. CLR should never come into contact with chlorine (or any other household chemical). It can create a poisonous gas and is not safe.
According to Pack, all you have to do to get your dirty pool looking clear again is simply put a Magic Eraser in the pool skimmer basket. Based on Pack's post, the Magic Eraser pretty much works like its name suggests.
Nannini emailed the manufacturer about using its Magic Eraser in swimming pools. Here's what the company had to say: “The answer to your question is, no — we have not tested the product in pools, and the chlorine may react or interfere with the ingredients in the product.”
Acrylic Latex
Acrylic paint adheres well to fiberglass, overcoming one of the main challenges to painting this material. Acrylic paint is less likely to crack and blister, and will hold up well to cleaning. This water-based paint is easy to apply, and contains fewer chemicals, so is more environmentally friendly.
When it comes to durability, both plaster and pool paint are built to hold up against the chemicals in your pool and natural conditions outside of it such as harmful UV rays; however, most pool plaster lasts 15-20 years, while epoxy pool paint – the longest-lasting type of pool paint on the market – needs to be ...
We maintain that if a pool is properly manufactured and properly maintained by the customer, the gelcoat surface of a modern fiberglass pool should last decades—as in 30–40 years.