How MicroGlass Works
Make Plaster HARDER and BETTER than NEW?
YES! Here's How MicroGlass Does It…
To understand why MicroGlass makes plaster and aggregate finishes stronger, harder, and nearly impervious to water chemistry, it’s important to understand some basic fundamentals of pool plaster.
I. Pool plaster is not exactly “waterproof.”
Most people know that pool plaster is comprised of a variety of materials, including Portland cement, plus marble dust and/or quartz and/or other aggregates, and a variety of other chemicals and additives.
But if you put that pool plaster under a microscope, you will see it is NOT a solid, impervious block of material. In fact, it is full of tiny voids and capillaries, which are a result of water and other liquids exiting the plaster during the curing process.
It’s because of these voids that pool water can enter the plaster matrix, and react with the calcium hydroxide and other materials in the plaster. That’s why a freshly-plastered pool will often have you chasing your tail trying to stabilize the pH and total alkalinity.
NOTE: To keep things simple, when we say “pool plaster,” we’re referring to ALL types of cement-based interior finishes for concrete/gunite swimming pools. That means standard pool plaster (a.k.a. Marcite) as well as all forms of polished quartz and exposed aggregates.
II. Pool plaster is constantly reacting with pool water.
Most people know that maintaining a stable pH and total alkalinity in a safe zone is vital to protecting your pool plaster and other parts of your swimming pool. Similarly, most people know that when the water chemistry is out of whack, your pool plaster may be damaged, or do things you don’t want it to do.
Ask any scientist who works with cementitious materials, and they’ll tell you “Calcium hydroxide is the Achilles’ heel of any cement-based material.”
III. Calcium nodules, anyone?
Some of the more glaring examples of pool water reacting with the calcium hydroxide in the plaster is the fading of plaster color, and the formation of small white calcium deposits on your beautiful pool finish. (These are unsightly, and they feel like small barnacles on your feet. Nobody wants calcium nodules!)
NOTE – Calcium nodules and “scale” are two different things. Scale comes from minerals in the water, not from the plaster.
Calcium nodules are a direct result of the interaction between pool water chemistry and the pool plaster.
Plaster etching, spalling, color-loss and shortened lifetimes are other common side-effects of chemicals interacting with the plaster.
If you see Calcium nodules or other white deposits on your pool plaster finish, it’s highly likely this is NOT defective pool plaster, but a pool chemistry problem.
IV. MicroGlass will FILL the voids, and minimize the water/plaster chemical reactions.
MicroGlass is not a “waterproofing agent,” nor a paint or coating, or anything remotely like that.
MicroGlass is produced through a scientific process that penetrates the pool plaster matrix by up to half an inch, and chemically converts and displaces the soft, vulnerable calcium hydroxide with small but significantly harder glass-like silicates. (Hence the name “MicroGlass.”)
By removing most of the calcium hydroxide, and filling most of the voids and capillaries with the MicroGlass, the application greatly minimizes the chemical interactions between the plaster and the pool water.
V. MicroGlass is NOT a “temporary fix.” The change is permanent.
The MicroGlass application is “One and Done.” When the process is complete, the plaster is permanently improved and hardened. The silicates are never going to revert back to calcium hydroxide. You will never have to apply it again until if and when you decide to completely re-plaster the pool.
VI. Yes, MicroGlass is “cutting-edge,” but it wasn't invented yesterday.
MicroGlass has been used on hundreds of swimming pools in the United States for more than 15 years. Our results are not based on speculation, but real-world results on all different types of pool interior finishes, both new and old, in many different environments, all over the U.S and beyond.
