Pool resurfacing & repair with ecoFINISH

The ecoFINISH® aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® Coatings warranty is unique to the pool coating industry. Other pool coating warranties generally require the pool owner to maintain perfect water chemistry and provide proof of that perfectly maintained water over the life of the coating, or the warranty is null and void. Cementitious coatings will deteriorate from even mildly poor water chemistry, so it is crucial to maintain a balanced pH.

The ecoFINISH Limited Warranty includes the following: Chemical Resistance, Chalking Resistance, Surface Mildew Growth Inhibition, and Organic Stain Resistance.

(Please see www.ecofinishcoatings.com/warranties for the residential and commercial warranties)

Simply put, unlike plaster or other cementitious surfaces, aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® coatings are inert and do not react with the water chemistry. Any chemicals added to the water in a pool finished with ecoFINISH® coatings adjust the chemistry of the water – and only the water.

A 1991 scientific research report published by the School of Building Construction at the University of Florida stated, “The deterioration of marcite (plaster) has been found to be chemically related and due primarily to the leaching of calcium hydroxide (portlandite) from localized areas of pool plaster. Acidic pool water (pH less than 7.0) can wreak havoc on marcite and pool plumbing, resulting in etching and staining. Proposed solutions to control the damage aggressive water can produce include (1) paying careful attention to water chemistry to avoid unbalanced water conditions and (2) providing a chemically inert barrier between the pool water and the marcite surface.”

In 1991 there was no such barrier solution…now, there’s ecoFINISH® coatings aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® for aquatic features.

Since there is no chemical reaction between the water and the cementitious surfaces causing a constant shift in pH, a pool finished with ecoFINISH® pool coatings will use fewer chemicals. Commercial pool owners have reported up to a 40% savings in annual chemical consumption for the same pool after being finished with ecoFINISH high-performance coatings.

The target chemical balance for a pool finished in aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® is basically the same as a vinyl liner pool. Pool owners will find it very easy to maintain the proper pH and chlorine levels, as the major cause of pH drift has been eliminated. Even the job of adding chemicals is easier, since there is now no reason to pre-dilute the acid by mixing with water prior to pouring into the pool. The ecoFINISH aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® pool finishes Start Up and Maintenance procedures can be found here: www.ecofinishcoatings.com/startup-maintenance

aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® are manufactured from resin in the same base polymer family as the jugs used for storing pool chemicals. They are both approved for installation in swimming pools and spas heated up to 104° F (40° C), and are resistant to blistering, chalking, and other signs of deterioration in normal use and with proper maintenance

aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® are manufactured using a polymeric resin that is engineered to withstand exterior exposure for many years without any breakdown in chemical structure. Unlike vinyl and fiberglass materials, the base polymer family has been used for decades to provide outstanding performance in exterior applications where the other materials eventually show signs of degradation. ecoFINISH® coatings remain a soft, flexible material throughout its life and should remain a single cohesive polymeric layer that remains well bonded to the pool surface when installed according to the guidelines of ecoFINISH’s patented installation system.

In addition to using only exterior grade colored pigments, aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® are formulated to provide outstanding U.V. protection and color stability. Real world pool environment testing ranging from the frozen north to very hot desert climates has shown ecoFINISH coatings to be fade resistant. Additionally, outstanding results from long duration QUV Accelerated Weathering Testing confirms the ability of aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® to withstand the affects of exposure to U.V. sunlight. ecoFINISH is confident that an ecoFINISH® coating applied to a pool’s surface should look vibrant and colorful for many years to come.

aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® were intentionally engineered to be a soft feeling material. The surface can best be described as an “orange peel” texture, which provides a pleasant feel for a swimmer’s feet. Cementitious coatings such as plaster and quartz may begin as smooth coatings, but will degrade over time into rough coatings that can be very abrasive on feet. Pebble finishes, even polished stone versions, are never really easy on the feet due to their bumpy surface.

All currently used pool surfaces are naturally slip resistant, with the exception of fiberglass, which tends to feel very slippery, especially on sloped depth transitions. aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® coatings, with their orange peel surface, are inherently slip resistant as normally applied for pool surfaces. On step treads, bench tops, and beach entries the coatings can be applied is such a way to increase that slip resistance to very safe levels. Following an application at a San Diego water park facility, the coating was tested by a San Diego Health, Safety, and Environmental Engineering facility to determine if the slip resistance (coefficient of friction) met their standard. Utilizing specialized equipment, ecoFINISH coatings were tested in a specific wet condition, where the minimum acceptable slip resistance is equal to that of a wet concrete surface. aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® was measured to be two full points (on their standard scale) over the minimum standard, and was deemed to be very safe for their patrons.

Cementitious coatings do not provide an impermeable, waterproof surface and for all the unbalanced water chemistry reasons previously discussed, may degrade not only on its surface, but also on its interior. Over time, delamination within a plaster surface can begin to form so that instead of one thick layer – as it was originally applied – the layer has split into two layers: one on top of the other.

Water begins to fill this layer and forms “hollow spots”. These may be seen as bulges in the pool’s surface as they begin; left unrepaired they will eventually break-out the top layer of plaster, leaving a distinct area of missing plaster on the surface.

Pebble finishes have a much lower risk of this type of delamination, but are still susceptible to poor water chemistry degradation as the pebbles are adhered to the surface in a cementitious mortar matrix. aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® are predominately impermeable, waterproof surfaces and can provide the barrier required to protect the cementitious base material from degradation due to poor water chemistry.

The bond strength of ecoFINISH® coatings to an existing plaster coating has been tested at over 800 psi using ATSM International standard adhesions tests ASTM D7234 ASTM D4541. When the surface finally did release, a cone-shaped plug of plaster an inch thick popped out with the ecoFINISH® coating still attached.

With a new aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® coating, there is literally nothing to do except “Balance and Swim” once the coating has cured. Just fill the pool, balance the water chemistry, and enjoy crystal clear water. Pools and spas may even be heated shortly after filling. All other cementitious coatings require some type of startup process and wait-to-heat time period. These range from continuous brushing and backwashing to clear the suspended plaster chalk from the water, to “hot starts” requiring acid washing and chemical additives to expose aggregates and create the desired appearance of the coatings. These startup processes are absolutely critical to the final appearance and longevity of the cementitious coating, and may take a week or more to complete. If they are done improperly or neglected even to a slight degree, the coating will be affected. Regardless of who performs the startup, this process will determine the appearance and longevity of the surface (mottling, bleaching, over/under exposed) … and the pool owner is often unable to use their completed pool for an extended period of time. The ecoFINISH aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® pool finishes Start Up and Maintenance procedures can be found here: www.ecofinishcoatings.com/startup-maintenance

Damage happens. Whether it occurs from natural or human causes, damage to a pool’s surface can happen. These imperfections can range from minor craze cracking, chipping, and abrasions, to delamination, gouges, and structural cracks. Due to the difficulty of repairing a cementitious coating, these conditions usually remain unrepaired until it’s time for a complete remodel or resurfacing. aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® applied over cementitious or fiberglass surfaces will assist with hiding minor imperfections that may develop in the base surfaces. However, if a pool finished with an ecoFINISH® coating were ever to need repairs, they can easily be accomplished. Minor cosmetic damage is repaired by reheating and melting the material to heal gouges and cuts, and to restore the glossy coating. Major repairs to the pool’s underlying shell would only require the aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® coating to be cut back approximately two inches around the damaged area being repaired. Following the structural repair, the ecoFINISH® coating surface is reapplied over the repaired area and blended with the surrounding coating utilizing ecoFINISH® equipment.

Although aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® in its standard application have a naturally slip resistant property which can be enhanced to provide outstanding slip resistance for steps, it can also be applied to concrete and fiberglass water slides to create a slippery slide surface. Now water slides can receive a coating that matches the interior of the pool.

Normally, cement water slides require an acrylic sealer or paint to be applied to create the slippery surface which typically only lasts from one to two years.

Fiberglass slides exposed to the sun begin to chalk and become less slippery. ecoFINISH coatings will retain their color and appearance for many years, and if it were to become less glossy and slippery from all the sliding wear, it can easily be re-glossed or even have additional material added without the need to remove the existing aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO®.

Unlike cementitious coatings, aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® may be used on areas above the waterline and remain resistant to cracking or fading. ecoFINISH® coatings are suitable for always wet, sometimes wet, and never wet applications on the pool surfaces and its features. Pool tile can now be eliminated by applying the aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® coating up to the coping. Vanishing edges and the backside of vanishing edges can now be finished with ecoFINISH coatings to provide a matching coating throughout. Exposed bond beams that are never wet are also candidates for a matching aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® surface.

aquaBRIGHT™ comes in eleven different colors ranging from commercial pool white tones to very dark blues and blacks while polyFIBRO® comes in a variety of nine colors. All aquaBRIGHT™, polyFIBRO®, and Commercial Colors coatings are a blend of different pigments that create speckled coatings in variations of white, brown, blue or grey/black tones that resemble a granite surface when applied.

Cementitious coatings may be varied with dyes to change the entire surface color of the pool, in only one color. Pebble finishes can utilize different naturally occurring colors of pebbles to create subtle, more subdued shade variations of the coating. With ecoFINISH®’s custom color service you can now have aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® made to your order in virtually any color you desire. Just as with interior design choices where material pattern colors are intentionally highlighted throughout a room, now pool designers can choose to accentuate a color or colors in the design scheme for the entire pool, its features, and the surrounding hardscape. Custom colors are available as custom blends with a specifically varied shade/tone, or all the way to wild, solid colors found in water parks and kid’s splash pads. Colors may be matched from a physical sample, a color swatch, or RAL color code provided by the customer.

ecoFINISH® Coatings have many attributes that make them Green, Eco-Friendly products:

1. They requires less energy resources to manufacture as compared to cementitious materials.
2. They require less energy resources to transport than cementitious materials. A typical pool requires around 100 lbs of aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® material to be shipped, not tonnage as with cementitious coatings.
3. Both requires far less energy resources to install the coating.
4. They will outlast the cementitious coatings and will therefore reduce/eliminate the energy expenditure to remove the old coating, manufacture new material, and install a replacement cementitious coating several times over the life of the pool.
5. They require fewer chemicals over the life of the pool to maintain balanced water chemistry, thereby requiring fewer chemicals to be manufactured and reducing the chemical exposure of the customer’s backyard.
6. Although ecoFINISH® does not incorporate recycled materials into the aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® products due to strict manufacturing purity requirements, the aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® materials are considered recyclable should they ever be physically removed from the pool.
7. Stored properly, ecoFINISH® coating powders have an indefinite useful lifetime, and should never require disposing to a landfill.
8. There is no end-of-job leftover waste to be disposed in landfills, as is with every cementitious coating which can be as much as hundreds of pounds.

aquaBRIGHT™, polyFIBRO®, Commercial Colors, and aquaticLIFE™ - material is manufactured and processed into a fine powder that is applied by the ecoFINISH® thermal process. As the powder particles pass through the flame, they are heated and softened so that when they strike the pools surface they immediately adhere and flatten out onto the existing pool surface. As the application process continues, the particles melt, flatten-out, and join other melted particles, flowing together to form a complete layer. There are no pores for algae, calcium, rust, or other staining agents to grab or embed into. Most discoloration that would normally be a permanent stain in a plaster pool should easily brush off the ecoFINISH® coating.

ecoFINISH® coatings are an incredibly strong, yet very flexible polymeric materials. They remain flexible, although to a lesser degree at very cold temperatures. This was tested in Ontario, Canada, with temperatures reaching 40° below zero. Result of the test showed no detrimental effects to the aquaBRIGHT™ coating applied to two steel pool wall panels that were bolted together. No cracking was observed, even over the joined seam of the panels.

During installation, small craze cracks in an existing coating will be covered by the aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® coatings. Larger cracks, including structural cracking are repaired by industry accepted methods such as epoxy injection, hydraulic cement, and/or staples, and then coated over during the normal ecoFINISH® coating installation. Due to the flexibility of the coating, minor cracks which may continue to form should remain hidden below as the aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® stretches over the top. Cracks that do appear through any ecoFINISH® coating represent potentially serious structural issues, and may require that major repairs be completed on the pool. However, it will be much easier to repair and match the aquaBRIGHT™ or polyFIBRO® coating following the repairs than with other coatings.

The aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® installation process yields a very uniform color and pattern over the entire interior surface of the pool. The final appearance of the coating following installation is how it will look for many years to come. Even the darkest colors of ecoFINISH® coatings will not mottle. Unlike cementitious materials with dyes added during mixing prior to installation, aquaBRIGHT™ and polyFIBRO® pigments are encapsulated in the polymer resin during the manufacturing process, and therefore are protected from the pool chemistry. Dyes that give plaster and other cementitious coatings their color are continuously exposed to pool water chemistry on and below the surface, and the result can be a non-uniform color change that appears as patches or blotches of bleached-out color. This is called mottling, and usually occurs over time, but may also become apparent almost immediately following the new coating start-up process. Mottling is generally more prevalent and easier to distinguish with darker dyed coatings.