mer jay Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 Hello, I have a River fiberglass pool. This is our second summer of use. After we took off the winter cover we noticed most the walls and the bottom were bleached out. We tried giving it a couple of months to get the water chemistry correct. Its not calcium either because its not rough to touch... We cant get the River pool guys back out to look. Apart, from painting it I don't know what to do. Please advise.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 @waterbear, @Pool Clown any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted August 13, 2020 Report Share Posted August 13, 2020 D 22 hours ago, mer jay said: We tried giving it a couple of months to get the water chemistry correct. A couple of months to get the water chemistry correct?!?!?! It should have been balanced within a week of opening, two at the most! Doesn't look like fading. Looks more like calcium silicate deposits, which are chalky and not rough like calcium carbonate deposits. Cause is unbalanced water (high calcium, high pH) and very difficult to to remove. They often occur in a closed pool and do not respond to acid like calcium carbonate scale does. In a gunite (plaster or tile surface) they are removed with a pumice stone but in a fiberglass pool chemical methods are the only option. You need to find someone familiar with the process and chemicals and realize that it can take MONTHS and is not always successful. It could also possibly be gelcoat bleaching, which can happen when a pool is closed from a combination of high chlorine levels and high pH. Consult your manufacturer's warranty on the pool surface to see if you are covered. Bottom line, this should NOT happen to a 2 year old pool! but if the manufacturer maintains that you have not maintained the water chemistry correctly you might be out of luck You can also resurface a fiberglass pool but the gelcoat will never perform as well as the factory applied one and will need to be done more frequently. You can paint a fiberglass pool but you will have to repaint every 2 to 3 years since that is all pool paint will last before chalking or peeling. Also, if you fully drain a fiberglass pool for painting you MUST have a pool contractor reinforce the pool before draining to prevent buckling of the shell or the shell popping out of the ground. It is NOT a DIY project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mer jay Posted August 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2020 Thank you for your reply. Yes, the chemistry was balanced right away. I guess we were wishing it would get better on its own. I was asked for a chemistry log which I don't have. We had a professional winterizer it, I will try to get them to address but its a uphill battle with these guys! We got a quote for a an ECO finish and it was 8K for a 12/24 pool. Way to much for us. I will research calcium silicate deposits. I appreciate any help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rspar Posted August 20, 2020 Report Share Posted August 20, 2020 Wrap a cloth around a pool brush and brush it with that it will probably come off. A regular pool brush won't do it. It's common with fiberglass and not necessarily your fault I've had it happen with pools that have beautiful pH balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mer jay Posted August 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2020 9 minutes ago, rspar said: Wrap a cloth around a pool brush and brush it with that it will probably come off. A regular pool brush won't do it. It's common with fiberglass and not necessarily your fault I've had it happen with pools that have beautiful pH balance. Thanks. I will give it a try. A regular cotton cloth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rspar Posted August 20, 2020 Report Share Posted August 20, 2020 yes towel, tshirt whatever you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Hi- I have a river pool with the exact same problem. Did you ever figure out how to solve this? My water chemistry is never far off and this is only the 3rd year we'd have the pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mer jay Posted August 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 Hi! We never figured it. Very frustrating. We just did an eco finish this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 I haven't seen many fiberglass pools, but in spas "fading" is often actually a thin calcium layer (scale) over the surface. I remove it with muriatic acid and lowered ph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 I assume that you both have blue pools. Bottom line is that colored fiberglass fades. This is why I opted for a white fiberglass pool when I put mine in some 16 years ago. Still looks new and because of the way sunlight interacts with the water it has a blue color anyway! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mer jay Posted August 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2021 Lesson learned the hard way for sure. The eco finish looks nice, hope it lasts for more than 5 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poolfound Posted December 11, 2021 Report Share Posted December 11, 2021 On 8/5/2021 at 1:06 PM, mer jay said: Hi! We never figured it. Very frustrating. We just did an eco finish this summer. We also have a river pool, it also did this exact same thing. Strange, so now I am learning about Ecofinish. Not super happy about Riverpools, or the clown dealer who installed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPCristian Posted April 12, 2022 Report Share Posted April 12, 2022 Hi @mer jay! Cristian here with River Pools. I was bouncing around the internet today and found this forum and your question. First, it is absolutely frustrating to purchase a product of this magnitude, then not feel as though you have support afterward. For that, we sincerely apologize. It shouldn't be that way, but I'd love the opportunity to speak with you directly about the situation to accomplish two things: 1. Make sure you are connected with our team to immediately begin working on a solution if you haven't found one already. 2. Identify the breakdown in communication after you initially brought up the issue. That is something I want to address and create a solution for ASAP. Please contact me at urgent@riverpoolsandspas.com and include the best phone number to reach you on. I will respond as fast as possible. Cristian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bevens Posted April 25, 2022 Report Share Posted April 25, 2022 We have a @thursdaypools fiberglass pool that started turning white less than one year after install. The first thing I noticed was a white boot print in our deep end. Handprints, footprints, and streaks all over the pool have slowly appeared. The benches and steps are nearly white. Our water chemistry was never out of balance but the manufacturer claims it was high Ca and high PH. I am not buying it. Our neighbors put the exact same pool in with 6 months of us and have the same problem. When you make an 80k investment you don’t expect it to be ruined looking in less than 3 years. I have so many regrets with our choice in pool manufacturers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 We installed a @thursdaypools fiberglass pool 4 years ago. When we took the cover off after the first winter we noticed white areas on the tanning ledges. We have been told it's calcium, but we bought a product that is supposed to remove calcium without draining the pool. It did not work. The white look is now all over, I'm afraid this is bleaching. Our chemical levels were tested every month with normal range levels, and winterized by a professional. Definitely frustrated because the pool looks 20 years old already. You can clearly see the top is still a pretty blue but everything below the water level is faded. Anyone have any luck getting manufacturers to help out with these issues? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richpool Posted June 28, 2022 Report Share Posted June 28, 2022 I have a River Pool as well. After 1.5 years the gelcoat is turning white. I have a pool guy maintain the pool weekly. Very frustrating. I'm in the process of working trough the installer. In reading the River Pools warranty, it does not cover the pool finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mer jay Posted June 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2022 Hi all. So we did the eco finish last summer and decided not to winterize it. We live in NC so we had a choice. It did not fade. I’m convinced it was a bad chemical mixture during the winterizing process. I like the eco finish look just not happy about the cost to a new pool. Next time. If we move I will never buy a fiberglass pool. Wishing you better luck. I know. It’s super frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mer jay Posted June 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2022 I believe the chemicals breakdown the gel coat of a fiberglass finish. So I blame the pool manufacturer mostly bc pools guys don’t know about this until it’s too late and their is nothing they can really do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie566 Posted July 15, 2022 Report Share Posted July 15, 2022 @Bevens @Green I had a Thursday Pool installed late 2019 and we opened in the spring of 2020. I noticed last summer (season #2) white streaks, hand prints on the Baja shelf. I contacted the builder and subsequently, they sent me to Thursday Pools. Thursday Pool was kind enough to send me pool scale remover to add at the beginning of 2022 (season 3). I opened at the beginning of April, had the water cleaned up and balanced within a week. I added the scale remover and nothing really happened. I called the scale remover company and they said to give it up to 8 weeks to work. I am officially at the 8 week mark and it has made no difference. It seems to actually be getting worse. I added muriatic acid to an exposed spot and there was no bubbling leading me to think that it isn't calcium carbonate. Have you made any progress? I have searched high and low on the internet to get ideas or solutions and I have officially run out of ideas. I now have another call into the builder to see if they can help. Frustration is starting to build seeing a $65K investment deteriorating before my eyes. Hoping you have some suggestions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cfreeman Posted July 19, 2022 Report Share Posted July 19, 2022 Thursday Pool owner here. We had our pool (Aspen in Graphite color) installed in 2019 and noticed marks/white spots and white walls recently. There’s also a very distinct white pattern where it looks like a brush all around the perimeter of the pool, steps and tanning ledge. Pool chemistry has always been good and stable. What is happening?? I see a few other posts that sound like similar experiences…I’m so upset as it seems to be getting worse. Thursday Pools has been nice and responding but no resolution. I am supposed to contact them by the end of the month for a plan to get this issue resolved. I will update later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Heier Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 We have the same problem with our River pool. It was installed12/2020. Have you had any success getting rid of it? Could this be a bad gel coat? feel free to contact us maybe together we could get River Pools to listen or file a law suit. Jerry Heier 540-842-8199 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie566 Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 On 7/19/2022 at 5:19 PM, Cfreeman said: Thursday Pool owner here. we had our pool installed in 2019 and noticed marks/white spots and white walls recently pool chemistry has always been good and stable what is happening?? I see a few other posts that sound like similar experiences… thursday pools has been nice and responding Hi there! I was wondering what model you had installed? We went with a 14x35 foot Aspen with the color Maya. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Roberts Posted August 13, 2022 Report Share Posted August 13, 2022 I own a 2 year old river pool also. I have been trying to get a resolution for the last year and this is the same exact issue I have. I’ve treated my pool with a kit two times with no Bad results. The first kit River sent me free along with a pool tiger. This spring I purchased the pool kit again to clean the calcium…. RP said was calcium until today. I finally got a hold of guy named Jonathan I’ve been emailing this last year. I emailed more pictures and my current status many weeks ago. He wouldn’t answer me. Today I was finally able to reach him on the phone. He had no idea who I was and acted as if he didn’t remember my emails. He proceeded to tell me if the kits didn’t work then I damaged my pool by bleaching it. I’m in the process of pulling my records of testing as two professional companies I use for testing. My water has always been balanced or just outside of any limit. Very unfortunate I dropped 80k for my pool and the question anyone asks me is what happened to your pool!!! 🤦🏻 I’m hoping RP will stand behind their product. Seems like they have a lot of people unhappy. Travis Roberts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cfreeman Posted September 2, 2022 Report Share Posted September 2, 2022 On 7/19/2022 at 5:19 PM, Cfreeman said: Thursday Pool owner here. we had our pool installed in 2019 and noticed marks/white spots and white walls recently pool chemistry has always been good and stable what is happening?? I see a few other posts that sound like similar experiences… thursday pools has been nice and responding We have the Aspen model in Graphite which recently has been pulled as a color option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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