Pool Finishes Explained: Which One is Best for You?

Your pool finish isn’t just a color choice, it’s a long-term decision that affects durability, comfort, staining, and how forgiving your water chemistry will be. I walk through the most common pool surface types and explain what I see out in the field, including how regional trends shape what you’ll run into. If you’re shopping for a new build, planning a pool resurfacing project, or servicing pools professionally, this breakdown helps you choose a finish that fits your budget and your area.

We start with plaster pool finishes: why they’re still the go-to in many markets, why modern “pure white” plaster often shows mottling, and why tinted plaster can make uneven shading even more obvious. From there, I compare quartz pool finishes as a practical upgrade and then dig into Pebble Tech style aggregate finishes, the durability benefits, the real-world feel underfoot, and why calcium buildup in hard water areas can dull darker colors and create a hazy look over time. 

Then we shift to fiberglass pools and vinyl liner pools, two options that can be great for a tighter budget and a smoother swim experience, but come with higher sensitivity to staining and chemical damage. I cover the difference between sprayed fiberglass coatings and one-piece fiberglass shells, why chlorine demand can feel lower on these surfaces, and a key maintenance warning: avoid trichlor tablets in a floater on fiberglass or vinyl. 

eline option and why modern white plaster often mottles
• why adding pigment can make mottling stand out more
• Pebble Tech as the durability leader and why it can be a better long-term buy
• Pebble Tech drawbacks including roughness, calcium haze, and price
• quartz finishes as the middle ground for color consistency and longevity
• fiberglass pool types including sprayed gel coat vs drop-in shells
• stain and chemical burn risks on fiberglass and vinyl surfaces
• why to avoid trichlor tablets in a floater on fiberglass or vinyl
• vinyl liner lifespan plus tearing risks from sharp objects or pets
• dangers of draining vinyl and fiberglass

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Transcript

Welcome And Finish Types Preview

SPEAKER_00 1:02

And welcome to the pool guy podcast show. In this episode, I'm going to go over different pool surface types for you. Now, if you're in the market to buy a pool, I'm going to go over the best choice for your pool service for your area. If your service pools, I'm going to go over some cautions and some pros and cons of different pool surface types you're going to find out on your pool route. Are you a pool service pro looking to take your business to the next level? Join the pool guy coaching program. Get expert advice, business tips, exclusive content, and get direct support. From me, I'm a 35-year veteran in the industry. Whether you're starting out or scaling up, I've got the tools to help you succeed. Learn more at swimmingpoollearning.com. I think the most common pool surface type varies by your region. If you're like in North Carolina, you're probably going to have a lot of vinyl pools. If maybe you're in a different area, you're going to have a lot of fiberglass pools. Here in Southern California, the most prevalent pool type is your standard plaster, typically white plaster. It can also be colored plaster. We also have a pretty good influx of pebble tech pools, and we have a very low amount of vinyl and fiberglass pools. So again, it's pretty area specific of which pool surface type you're going to see most often out there. Which pool surface type do I like the best? Well, for pure durability, I of course like the aggregate pebble techs or quartz surfaces, they're the most durable. Pebble tech, of course, being the most durable surface out there. And then for pure you know look and for I guess swimmer swimmer comfort, I think fiberglass is the best surface type for that, and it's much more affordable than a plaster or a pebble tech pool. So let me go over I'll start with the plaster pool. And the nice thing about the plaster pool is that it's a pretty cost-effective surface type. I wouldn't say cheap, it's inexpensive. The word cheap kind of denotes that it doesn't last long or it has problems, and it really doesn't. It's a very long-lasting surface type. I will say this though, since they stopped putting asbesto in the plaster mix, which of course is a good thing because asbestos is a very harmful chemical, causes a lot of lung issues. But since they stopped using it, the plaster quality has actually gone down quite a bit as far as the modeling effect. So when I say modeling, it's with two T's. This is basically the kind of look you have, like a topper topographical map. Basically, when you look at a map, it has like different shades of the same color that give you elevation, and that's kind of what pool modeling modeling looks like. It looks like the color is just not consistent. You may have like a white and then maybe a little darker, kind of grayish color, and it may be different shades of white basically, but the pure white plaster doesn't really exist in the pool. In fact, most builders will not even warranty white plaster pools, so just be aware of that. Because the mix doesn't have anything that can keep it that pure white. That's what the asbestos did. It really helped make that plaster very pure and white. And there were a number of reasons why it was effective back in the 60s. I mean, you look at the pools that were built back then, the plaster still looks really nice, and it's because asbestos, of course, is kind of a natural bright white material in itself. It also will kind of by itself prevent graying. If you've ever been into a house in the 60s and 70s with the asbestos ceiling, you know that it still looks pretty white, and of course, it's stain resistant. And so all these things really help the white plaster stay pretty much white and avoid all the modeling, the different discolorations. So I would say that a white plaster pool more or less looks like a cement driveway. If you look at your driveway, it has different shades of colors, and that's kind of how it is in the plaster pool, as a white plaster pool now. And so that's the drawback with strictly white plaster pool. So then you're gonna say, well, I'll just add a pigment and make it a gray-colored plaster pool. That's even worse because the modeling will be even more obvious in a darker color plaster pool. And really, there isn't a plaster color except for one color which I don't recommend you use, but I've had a customer use this, and when he uses color, it the pool looks kind of weird, it's like a greenish tint to it. So it was like a tan-colored plaster mix, but when the sun hits it at certain times of the day, it does look like the pool has green algae in it. So, yes, the pool didn't have a lot of modeling, I don't think, because the color doesn't have a lot of variations as far as the shades of it, but the pool does look kind of green all the time, so I wouldn't recommend that. So, color plaster is not gonna fix the modeling, it's gonna sometimes make it actually more obvious than if you just left it a white plaster pool. So that's the lowest cost surface type. It is pretty chemical resistant, of course, it can stain, and it also has a shorter lifespan of you know the other pool surface types. The pebble tech and quartz, I should say, not all the other surface types, but for the more durable plaster-like surfaces like pebble tech and quartz, it does have less of a lifespan than the upper level in pricing, or the better pool surface type. So Pebble Tech is the most durable surface type, it's basically just river rock that's been manufactured to make it a pool surface, and they have a lot of different colors you can choose from. So that's another great thing about Pebble Tech. It is more expensive than plaster. If you wanted to go one level above plaster, I would go with a quartz type material, it's more durable than plaster, and it seems to have less modeling. And if you're gonna color that, it does have a more consistent color than the plaster pool. And in my experience, it's better, but it's more expensive than the standard plaster. The pebble tech would be my choice for you. I mentioned I was gonna say what was my favorite choice. Pebble tech definitely would be the way to go because it's extremely durable, it's gonna last 20 years, 30 years, well, well beyond what a plaster pool would last you. So I think if you do the math and you you're gonna replast your pool after 15 years, but instead you go with pebble tech, which is more expensive in the last 30 years. I think Pebble Tech is a better buy. More money up front, but much longer lasting than a standard plaster pool. And if you wanted to add a color to it and make it maybe a light blue Pebble Tech, very nice because the color is extremely consistent across the entire Pebble Tech pool. Same if you're gonna make it a tan color, same kind of thing where the color is very consistent across the whole pool. There are some cons here with the pebble tech. I'll mention a couple kind of big ones that I think you should consider. One is that the surface is always gonna be a little rougher than say fiberglass vinyl in a plaster pool. It's gonna have a little bit of roughness on the step areas, certain corners. Overall, the feel is gonna be rougher on your feet because it is a rock surface type, and so you're gonna have that roughness. The other drawback is that any kind of calcium buildup in the pool, especially if you're in a hard water area like mine, will dull the color of the pebble tech. So you're gonna see kind of like a hazy white building on the pebble tech. You'll have areas that are clear. I'll just use a dark black pebble tech, for example. You may have a lot of areas that are just consistently black, but then in some corners, you're gonna have some little lighter white color, and then maybe on the steps a white and the spa some white, and that's just calcium buildup on the pebble tech surface, and it's very obvious to see because the pebble tech really shows that calcium buildup. You probably have it in your plaster pool, you just can't see it because it's not offset by rocks that are underneath it, and so the calcium buildup and the roughness of the surface, and I guess if you want to throw one more con in the price point of it, would be the third one. I would say those would be the downside of pebble tech. The upside is it looks great and it's very long-lasting. If you wanted something in between plaster and pebble tech, of course, a quartz surface would be the way to go. And I like the light blue tint for the quartz. Once it's full with water and the sun hits it, it has a darker blue look to it. But the light blue is my favorite color because it just looks like a lagoon, you know, with the dark blue color once it's full and the sun's hitting it. And it also does not have quite as much modeling as a plaster pool. So if you're if you're torn between plaster and pebble tech, and you don't have the budget for pebble tech, I would go with quartz. Just stretch your buds a little bit and get the better surface type. And it it is warrantied by the builder as well. Both the pebble tech has its own manufacturer warranty, and the quartz has a a somewhat uh somewhat of a warranty as well. I'll move on to two surface types that I find interesting that they haven't really picked up in California because it's a much more affordable option than Pebble Tech and Plaster as well. But for some reason, it just hasn't caught on in my area, at least in most of Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, you're not gonna see a lot of vinyl and fiberglass pools. On occasion, you're gonna see some fiberglass pools. Now, there are two types of fiberglass pools in my area. This may be different than you, but there was something that happened, I think, in the 70s and 80s, maybe the 90s as well, where customers wanted that fiberglass feel, but they also wanted a pool that was built in just like a plaster pool. So a lot of these older fiberglass pools are actually gunited in, and they're built just like a plaster pool, except the fiberglass is sprayed on to the surface, the gel coat is sprayed on. It's actually an interesting process. I've seen it done when they had to redo a gel coat. They actually take the surface down to the gunknight, they cover everything in the backyard with tarps and with plastic, they cover the fence, they even cover stuff in the neighbor's yard, they'll cover everything that's where the wind can blow the fiberglass particles to, and then they reglaze the fiberglass pool. And so it's like a built-in plaster pool but with fiberglass. Now, the drawback with the kind of fiberglass pool that's built in like a regular pool, and by the way, you can pretty much tell if it's a built-in fiberglass pool because it has regular pool tile, it has regular coping, so it looks just like a plaster pool, but it does have the fiberglass shell sprayed on. The typical fiberglass pool that you're probably familiar with are the shell type that are dropped in on a crane over the house into the backyard. These really don't have the same foundation as a sprayed fiberglass pool, basically a plaster pebble tech sprayed fiberglass pool. They have the rebar, then they have the gunite. This is actually just a shell. Think of a giant bathtub kind of, and they prepare it, of course, so that it's not gonna move or break. And you can drop these in the backyard, and these fiberglass shells look great. They don't have your tile line or the standard coping because they're just a fiberglass shell, but you can make them look fancy and you can actually put coping on them if you wanted to. I like them because I mentioned that for a bather, they're the best surface type, they're super smooth. You run your hand along it, it's like running your hand on a surfboard, it's the smoothest surface there is out there, and it feels great. It looks great too, it has a consistent color, and of course, you want to make sure that you don't use anything in this to stain this consistent looking color of the pool. You can stain the fiberglass, and I'll mention vinyl in a little bit. These surfaces stain extremely easy compared to say a pebble tech or a plaster pool. So anything that gets in there that can stain it, you want to avoid you know, any kind of metal that gets on the bottom can cause a rust stain, which sometimes is hard to get rid of. And certain chemicals can burn the surface. And so, if you have a fiberglass and a vinyl pool, I would avoid using trichlor tablets and a floater. They're probably okay in a chlorinator, but then again, I wouldn't use them with these surface types regardless, because they do lower the pH in the pool because the fiberglass and vinyl pool don't have a lot of acid demand, and so that's why you want to avoid the trichlor tablets, and you definitely don't want to use the trichlor tablet in a floater in a fiberglass or vinyl pool. If that tablet falls out, it's gonna definitely burn the surface of those pools. The fiberglass pool surface I find is really good also as far as a chlorine demand. For some reason, it seems to hold chlorine a lot better than a plaster and a pebble tech pool. Could be because the pH stays more stable, but I just think maybe the surface type is just better for that. I've never researched it beyond the fact that I know that when I have a fiberglass pool, the chlorine seems to hold much better in that than a plaster pool. And then, of course, the vinyl pool, the same thing, the chlorine seems to hold better than a vinyl pool as well. You can get a vinyl pool with a lot of different designs in it, different kind of patterns. Of course, avoid staining because then the problem is with those pool surface types, once you get a stain in the vinyl pool, it's going you have to replace the liner. Now the the fiberglass pool is not quite the I'm sorry, the vinyl pool is not quite as durable and long-lasting as the fiberglass pool. Figure that you're going to have to replace the liner every 7 to 12 years. It starts to stretch a little bit and then tear away from the sides. It can also get torn very easily. So if you're using any kind of sharp toys in there, if a dog is swimming in there with sharp nails, you could actually tear the vinyl liner pretty easily. Usually an in-ground vinyl pool has sand around it so that it kind of pads it and it feels good. Kind of like with the above-ground vinyl pools, you put sand underneath the bottom of it, so when you're walking on it, you're not going to step on rocks or anything that's going to poke through. So the in-ground vinyl pools again are very popular here. I've serviced a couple of them before. The vinyl pools that are popular, of course, the above-ground pools. You see a lot of those everywhere, and those have a vinyl liner typically. So it is an option if you're looking for a pool and you're on a budget. I would say fiberglass and vinyl would be great budget pool types. They're they're just like a regular pool, basically. It's just that the surface type is a piece of plastic and they're very durable if you treat them correctly. They'll last you a very long time. Not nearly as long as a plaster or pebble tech pool, but the surface lasts a very long time, and if you if you take care of it. Now, the only drawback with the vinyl liner pool and fiberglass shell pool, the one that's kind of like a bathtub, is that you have to be really careful not to let the water get too low or drain these pools. So having these pools turn green or having to drain these pools is a big problem. But the vinyl liner, if you drain it too low or have too little water in it, the vinyl liner is going to start tearing off the side. It's just basically physics. The the liner with the weight of the water stays in place, but as the water gets really low, like half full or less than half full, that vinyl liner will stretch as that water as it's empty, and then you have the water on the bottom. And for a fiberglass pool that they put in, if you drain it and it's 10,000 gallons, that actually can pop out of the ground, and that's happened before to people here. So you want to make sure that you don't drain these. And if you do drain them, it's a professional has to do it properly. So a little bit of a drawback. I mean, for a plaster and pebble type pool, you can drain it, refill with water. You really don't have much to worry about with these surface types. That is something to be cautious about. Plus, you have to be more cautious about. I mean, of course, with a plaster pool, you have to be cautious, you don't stain it. But with these surface types, you have to be even more cautious and careful with something staining the pool surface. So keep that in mind that they are not as durable and robust as plaster and pebble tech, but they are a great option out there. And if you come up to me and say you want to build a pool and you're on a budget, what would I recommend? I would say, well, go with a fiberglass pool or vinyl pool. I really wouldn't argue against it. I think they're great surface types, they're just underutilized in my area. Plaster is the number one pool type, with pebble tech being second, but I would say that they're a great pool surface type in their own in their own, and I think there's really nothing wrong with a fiberglass and vinyl pool. I like the feel of them, and really you're sacrificing a little bit of durability and longevity for a really great price for a pool in ground pool. I don't want to spend too much time on the tile pool surface because again it's not super common either in my area because of the expense. It's pretty expensive and it's pretty permanent as well. So it's one of those things where it's really a nice surface type. Not quite as nice as fiberglass, but pretty close. You may feel a little bit of grout in there once in a while, but the tile is a really great surface type, but it is the most expensive, and it's really meticulous hand laid, so there can be mistakes as well. I've seen errors while they're laying the tile, and there's been some problems afterwards, but typically the installer is an expert at it, and they're gonna do a great job with it. The grout line may eventually get dirty as well. That's one thing I notice about tile pools is that the grout does get stained, but it's a great choice if you're looking for that luxury look and feel. It's just not something that most people gravitate towards because of the cost of it. And people that are looking for the tile pool typically are going for the pebble tech pool surface type over that because of the cost and durability. I would say tiles tile pools are extremely durable as well. It's just that they're not as cost effective as a pebble tech pool. If you're looking for other podcasts, you can find those by going to my website, swingingpoollearning.com, clicking on the podcast banner. There's there's an icon on the banner, I should say. Click on that. That'll be that'll give you a drop down menu over 1900 podcasts there. If you're interested in the coaching program, you can learn more at poolguycoaching.com. Thanks for listening to this podcast. Have a rest of your week and God bless.