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A basic epoxy system consists of two main elements namely an EPOXY RESIN and a CATALYST (HARDENER). The two elements are chemically balanced so that when they are combined, a chemical reaction will take place where the molecules of the two main elements will combine to form a new structure that will become hard and solid after a period of time. Each of these two basic elements is further complimented with additional additives depending on the final purpose of the epoxy. Our own epoxy coat product consists of no less that 12 different ingredients. These ingredients enhance qualities like UV protection, color stability, anti-sagging, self-leveling, gloss enhancing and abrasive resistance qualities. The large amounts of quartz offer gloss and abrasive resistance resulting in a very tough and robust product. Normal paint products, although also consisting of many different ingredients, do not have a catalyst part and relies mainly on the evaporation of solvents to air-dry. This process leaves the binder elements that keep the solids and pigments together as a coloured layer on the surface. In an epoxy system, the chemical binding of the Catalyst molecules exactly weighted to match the molecular mass of the Resin part, causes a chemical reaction which forms microscopic circular structures almost like a honeycomb structure. This circular formation is thousands of times stronger and thus less prone to penetration by water, chemicals and in our case, 100% immune to algae infestation.> For more information on formulations and important and interesting aspects about epoxies, click here. Why is epoxy stronger than any normal paint? Normal paint products, although also consisting of many different ingredients, do not have a catalyst part and relies mainly on the evaporation of solvents to air-dry. This process leaves the binder elements that keep the solids and pigments together as a coloured layer on the surface. The inherent bonding qualities of an epoxy resin system offers far more bonding strength to the substrate it was designed for. The circular molecular structure that is formed by the chemical reaction between resin and hardener components offers many times more protection against chemicals and other substances. This is crucial concerning submerged underground structures like swimming pools where moisture is constantly in contact with the coated layers. No matter how good a paint is rated to be, a well developed and specialized epoxy system offers far more durable qualities. Epoxy coatings are used in harsh industrial environments where the robust nature and qualities of an epoxy resin and hardener system ensures a longer life span. Epoxy coatings are also used to protect the hulls of ships. A durable epoxy for swimming
pools, just like epoxies for ships' hulls, are in constant contact with
water, chemicals and algae, for this reason the molecular bonding and
structure offer far more an impenetrable layer.
Lower quality epoxies as well as normal paints, are prone to absorbing
chemicals and water into the structure, this will result in the
internal breakdown of the binder elements and pigments, resulting in
peeling, blistering and chalking of the coating. Paints, as well as
certain epoxies are not at all suitable for constant contact with
water,
acid or chlorine. Be careful what you buy. See our product
page for tests done and a few comparisons with other available swimming
pool epoxies. Although
all epoxies tend to chalk due to ultra-violet radiation from sunlight,
lower quality epoxies will chalk much faster resulting in a thinning of
the epoxy layer and limiting the lifespan to 2-3 years (regardless of
the guarantee offered, see guarantee issues lower down). Our epoxy utilizes the latest in high-quality industrial-rated curing agents and additives with UV-resistant qualities. Our thick topcoat formulation ensures a thick coating that will last for many years. We also apply the only 4-layer epoxy system in the country ensuring that even the limited amount of chalking experienced, will not degrade the lifespan of our epoxy coat system. Our first test-pool was coated in 1997 and is still in service today with it's original epoxy coat. (Can be seen at the top of our photo-page.) Why is the re-application of marblite not a solution to swimming pool staining and algae infestation? The porous qualities of marblite, concrete and cement type surfaces offer microscopic holes and cavities that are penetrated by algae and other substances. Algae will grow into these cavities forming even more algae and better bonding qualities for new algae. Shock-treating with acids and other strong chemicals, especially acid-washing your pool, causes the marblite to further become rough, softer and more porous, accelerating the subsequent formation of algae. The reasons your swimming pool got stained and infested in the first place is not going to disappear by applying new marblite again. The whole process will only be delayed for a few months. Applying a well developed epoxy coat will cover and seal the underlying marblite structure to offer a gloss-like solid layer which is impenetrable by algae. A well developed epoxy coat also offers exceptional resistance against staining by chemicals. Is any epoxy suitable for swimming pools? Definitely not. We have found that some of the epoxies we tried in the past, in fact all three of the other suppliers we bought epoxies from a few years ago, were probably derived from older floor coating formulations. All of these epoxies that we have tried did not offer suitable qualities for permanently submerged conditions and suffer from yellowing, chemical staining, colour loss and chalking. Some applicators do not offer a specially developed primer to seal the swimming pool. These epoxies will be prone to blistering due to reverse osmoses (water pressure penetrating from the outside of the pool walls). Chalking is also a serious problem. This means that if the epoxy coat is not well-developed to offer UV and chlorine resistance, the top layer of the coat is slowly broken down, releasing pigment particles into the water. This is normally visible as a milky cloud when scrubbed. This also means that the layer is fast wearing thinner and thinner. It is a scientifically proven fact that large percentages of solvents will adversely affect qualities like bonding capability, color stability and penetration resistance to water and chemicals, just to name a few). Many epoxies are "thinned" down with cheaper ingredients to increase profits. We also found that some of these epoxies supplied uses a cheap type of general curing agent. Considering that 80% of a combined epoxy system's qualities are determined by the quality of the curing agent, makes this a main factor why many products don't live up to expectations. Using the highest grade resin and only the best available in the latest curing agents developed for the industrial concrete coating environment, we improved on all the qualities we found to be of concern in bought-out products. We constantly develop and upgrade our products to offer the qualities available from the latest developments in epoxy resin and curing agents. We have reduced the solvent content in our Primer epoxy to 0%. To maintain easier roller application our top-coat has only 6% solvents which is exceptionally low compared to industry standards. Many lower-grade epoxy coat products and paints have up to 40-60% solvent content. Is a fiberglass lining not a better solution to my problems?Fiberglass offers a very strong, thick and tough lining and will also not be prone to algae infestation. The draw-backs are:
Spot-repair is also possible with epoxy coatings. Should the layer need to be refurbished due to thinning after many years, applying another top coat is easy and cost-effective. Can your epoxy be applied on fiberglass?Due to the inherent bonding qualities of our epoxies, application on fiberglass is possible. Fiberglass linings need to be scourged with heavy grade sandpaper or grinding disks to provide more mechanical bonding strength. Some of our DIY clients have applied our product on successfully on fiberglass. By the time of writing this webpage, the oldest fiberglass epoxy-coated swimming pool was in service for 8 years without any signs of deterioration. Our oldest epox-coated fiberglass pool was coated in 1997 and still in excellent condition. Can this epoxy be used with a salt chlorinator installed?Yes, our epoxy is compatible with salt chlorinators. In fact, Rian Olivier who's testimony features on our home page have a salt chlorinator installed for quite a few years. We have found that in certain cases, people have used a very dosage of salt resulting in very strong chlorine release. This can reduce the life-span of the product and thin it out quicker. Due to the low level of algae growth and the low level of chemicals needed with an epoxy-coated pool, the minimum setting must be used on automated chlorinators. On normal pools, we recommend using normal HTH chlorine products or drifter packs which are quite capable of maintaining an epoxy-coated pool. Which chemicals can be used with the epoxy coat that will not stain the product? We use Two-10-Blue to quickly get the water clear and blue again. We have tested our product using HTH dry chlorine and HTH 4in1 drifter packs. Normal swimming pool acid will not stain our product. All of the above can be used according to dosage specifications without the danger of staining. Only use HTH Alkalinity-up to raise alkalinity levels. The following products have been reported to have stained the epoxy paint (possibly due to high copper sulphate content):
I am using a HTH 4in1 drifter in my swimming pool, why does it cause yellow streaks when "parked" for long periods of time? How can I solve this? The yellow streaks are caused by the "built-in" shock program designed into many drifter packs. When parked against the wall or the steps during this period without the filter system running, chlorine will accumulate on the surface near the drifter pack. These yellow streaks can be scrubbed off using a dishwasher sponge and Handy Andy even under water.The best is to just leave these streaks as they will disappear after two to three weeks. There is no permanent damage to the epoxy coating. To prevent this problem, string the drifter to the automatic pool cleaner pipe 1m-2m from the wall of the pool. Calcium Hardness - what is it?: Dark spots have apeared in my swimming pool and something has corroded through the epoxy and has eaten into the marblite, what caused this? Total hardness in the context of pool water refers to the total mineral content of the water. This is made up of calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese and other elements. These elements are present in the water used to fill the pool, and the levels can increase through the use of regular pool chemicals (e.g. chlorine composed of calcium hypochlorite). We are interested in the calcium hardness levels. The ideal range for calcium hardness is 250-350 ppm.
Why
do you offer a 3-year guarantee while some other companies offer a
5-year guarantee? When we started out marketing our product in 1998, there were only two or three companies that offered epoxy coatings for swimming pools. As competition increased during the past few years, the only way for some of these manufacturers and applicators to try and stay in the market, were to inflate their warranty offer. We got to know this market for the quick profits, bad service and empty promises when we bought our product from some of these suppliers during the start-up years. Bad service, no backup and low-quality solvent-diluted products were the exact reasons we invested the time and money to develop and improve on these products. Many of these products were applied without a primer coat, will not last 2-3 years due to chalking and the fact that it is a very thin layer. Our 3-year guarantee however, is not an indication of expected life expectancy as can be confirmed by the testimonies on our website and references we are willing to provide at any time. The 3-year guarantee is to ensure that your pool is not an out-of-the-ordinary case and to ensure that there are no teething problems due to reverse osmosis or any other mishap. Our first test-pool was coated in 1997 and is still in good condiition. We made sure we overcame the problems of reverse osmosis and short life expectancy by applying two primer coats (sealer and bonding coat) as well as two thick top layers, 4 layers in total. We also constantly upgraded and improved our formulations incorporating the latest available chemical-resistant additives. Regarding DIY clients, read our guarantee. We prefer good customer references and will not try to make an additional profit out of a DIY customer that might have experienced a mishap or was fouled by bad weather, spillage etc. We have supplied our product at cost to DIY customers who came back to us for help in the past, admitting that they have made a mistake. We know everyone can make a mistake, especially the first time. We will rather keep a customer happy, re-supply the material at cost, knowing he will refer us to more potential customers. We are quite satisfied making a market-related profit per customer once only and gaining a few new customers in the process. What is the best? or, a fake 5-year guarantee with loopholes and small-print disclaimers like "failures due to reverse osmosis will not be covered by this guarantee" and probably backed by ... "No-one-Willing-to-Phone-you-Back" or "Not-Our-Name-Anymore"? We stand by our name, our workmanship and our product. How do I know if I am dealing with a reputable company. Will your name still be the same in 5 years time? First determine that you are dealing with a product supplier that has a track record and have been operating under the same name for many years. As you know, many will offer you rediculous guarantees, but in three years time, they might have have changed their name and you have no guarantee. Be careful! Here is a little inside tip on how to do an easy check on anyone: In a new window (or tab) in your browser, enter this url or click on this link for .co.za websites: http://co.za/whois.shtml. Enter the name of the website e.g. "poolsolutions" (the .co.za part will automatically be added, don not enter "www" at the front of the name). Now look at the top-left under the heading "Accounting info". The first date listed is when they have first registered their website and domain name. For international websites (.com), visit this url: http://whois.net. Type in the domain name and look at the "Creation date". Over the years, many have come and go. You will note that due to the success of this website and it's top rating in the first position on a Google search (which by the way is very much due to being on the web for many years) many have arranged their presentation, warranties or content reflecting in some way or other the info you will find on this website. If they are new on the web and making exuberant claims, they are out to make a quick profit with lots of promises. Don't expect to see them for after-sale service, that is if they are still around in a few years time. Oh yes, do they offer testimonials on their website and can they provide you with references dating back at least 5 years? What is reverse osmosis? I see certain companies who do not guarantee their product against this problem, and others who do Guarantee against it?We offer a limited guarantee against reverse osmosis. The enemy of any fibreglass lining or epoxy coat layer, is when the structure of the existing swimming pool is porous to the extend that under-ground water can easily penetrate and cause pressure underneath the coating or lining. This may cause delamination, and pulling away of a fibreglass lining from the base structure, which after a while may result in the total loss of the lining due to large bubbles and even cracking. On epoxy coated pools, reverse osmosis may cause small 3mm-5mm bubbles to pop up in certain areas in the epoxy layer. Unfortuantely there is not yet a 100% solution to prevent this. We will however always evaluate the structure before application of the epoxy layers to the best of our ability to determine if it is a risk for the applied epoxy layer. If the structure seems to leak water from the outside inwards on a large scale while the pool is empty during the sanding and preparation process, we will not apply an epoxy coat and advise the client accordingly. This can however not be foreseen in all cases and on 1-2% of swimming pools installed so far, we have experienced reverse osmosis after a few weeks or months. In 99% of the cases this does not pose a serious problem regarding the integrity of the coating. For the perfectionist, this might however be a visible irritation. In 99% of cases, the pressure caused from underneath the coating will not cause breaking of the bubbles and the coating will stay solid and intact for many years, still offering an esthetically pleasant appearance. This occurrence will be visible only by relatively nearby inspection by an informed person, normally occurring on the steps and along the top 200mm of the pool walls where sunlight is heating the surface. Our 4-layer epoxy system offers the highest resistance against reverse osmosis and the integrity of the coating will not easily be compromised, even should these small bubbles be present. Should this condition however deteriorate over time, the existing surface can be sanded down to remove the bubbles and two new top layers on top of the previously applied layers will further strengthen the coating's resistance against reverse osmosis and the problem may totally dissapear. In terms of our gurantee, should reverse osmosis cause bubbles and the customer can't live with it, we offer our topcaot epoxy product at a 50% discount as a DIY kit to existing customers (no profit). We can even refer an experienced worker that may be contracted privately to sand the surface to remove the problem and re-apply two additional top-coats to further strengthen the coating and restore it again to that perfect appearance. Visit our guarantee page for more information. In cases where companies offer a 100% guarantee against reverse osmosis, the client should take not of the conditions of the guarantee that may state that they do not guarantee any problems related to structural integrity problems. This normally voids their guarantee against reverse osmosis. Our 50% material replacement guarantee is valid in all cases without exception. Do you store the swimming pool water in containers for re-use to save me money?We do not offer this service due to several reasons:
Will your product bleach and loose its colour? Due to UV radiation and the constant submerged conditions in a chemical rich environment will bleach the dark colours quite visibly over a period of 1-2 years. This effect is normally accepted as natural "Charcoal" appearance. The most stable colour is our white which is a Rutile Titanium UV-treated pigment. The natural blue colour of a filled swimming pool with balanced water quality will still offer that pleasant and inviting blue apearance. The light-blue we offer will become lighter over a period of 3-4 years. The bleaching of the blue cannot be totally eliminated. We have found that this is however not very noticeable and visitors to your premises will still compliment you on the appearance of your swimming pool. The natural blue of a filled swimming pool with clean sides and sparkling clean water still offers an excellent-looking pool. Our epoxy coating is by nature a solid watertight product and has as such sealing qualities. It will cover and seal haircracks quite well and form a hard, solid, porcelain-like finish when cured. However, we do not advertise it as a sealer, as sealing is not our main purpose with the product. The main function of the epoxy coat is rather a decorative one to enhance the apearance of your pool and reduce the maintenance effort required to fight staining by algae. Due to the fact that it is rolled-on like a paint, it is a relatively thin layer that is dependant on the stability and solidness of the underlying shell or substrate, the epoxy coat will not prevent further cracking of underlying structures or strenghthen the swimming pool structure per say. We do fill up larger cracks and loose mablite before painting. This is merely to prepare the surface to obtain a smooth good looking finish. The epoxy coat will loosely follow any structural irregularities. Even so, this effort is not to strenghthen the structure and the re-appearance of cracks cannot be guaranteed as the underlying structure shifts or form cracks. The most knowledgeable person is the owner who knows the history of his/her swimming pool. If you are not sure that the structural integrity will support the paint layer, do not paint with the expectations that your pool will never crack or leak again. If epoxy coat applicators try to talk you into a deal with these problems present, be aware of their real intentions. How can I find a leak in my swimming pool? If air bubbels are coming from the outflow jets, you might have a leak in the filter system. Check the rubber ring seal inside the cover of the filter basket at the pump, Ensure that this seal and its seating is clear of debris and dirt. Also investigated the areas inside the light-housing and inside the weir. Leaks can sometimes be found by using the purple chemical liquid supplied as part of the HTH water test kit. Dripping this all around the sides, near the light-housing and inside the weir and check to see if it streaks towards a certain point while the filter pump is switched off. If the cause for leaking is inside the pipes, check for streaking into the outflow jets and inside the weir. My swimming pool water has turned green. What product can I use that won't damage the epoxy coat? We use Two-10-Blue to quickly get the water clear and blue again. We have tested our product using HTH dry chlorine and HTH 4in1 drifter packs. Normal swimming pool acid will not stain our product. All of the above can be used according to dosage specifications without the danger of staining. Only use HTH Alkalinity-up to raise alkalinity levels. The following products have been reported to have stained the epoxy paint (possibly due to high copper sulphate content):
After 6 years, a previous paint applied became thin and worn-out, inspite the 30 year guarantee given. The company is now out of business. What would make your product any different to other epoxy solutions and why should we consider that instead of the normal cement based pool refurbishment treatment? No epoxy paint will last 30 years, except according to ageing lab tests that we also had performed by the SABS years ago. (The UV and Salt Spray ageing test results predicted a lifespan of 25-30 years, this is why we do not boast with these ridiculous SABSA results). In the real imperfect world, the normal expected lifespan on a normally HTH chlorine-treated pool is 8- 10 years. This lifespan can come down to 6 years if a salt chlorinator is used on high dosage settings, as they normally are. Epoxy coatings age due to UV and chemical breakdown over time in the form of a slow chalking released into the water. The effect is less rapid on good high-solid epoxy formulations than on older Polyamide floor epoxy formulations or compromised water-thinned, or high solvent content formulations, but they do thin out over time nevertheless. At the end of the day this is only a decorative finish that reduces maintenance and algae infestation and offers a very nice finish. After ageing and thinning of the product, it can be refurbished quite easily by slight sanding and rolling on two new top-layers. (At 50% or less than original cost, especially in DIY applications the refurbishment cost is very low.) If staining, dullness and higher maintenance efforts are not the concern, a well-built marble-plastered pool is still a suitable solution. If you want easier maintenance and are willing to spend less than 50% (even much less if DIY) of the original application cost to refurbish the coating every 6-8 years (some pools have reached 10 years), an epoxy coat is the solution. If you want a longer lifespan (not guaranteed and very dependant on the expertise of the applicator) and are willing to take the higher financial risk associated with failure of the lining, are willing to pay the much higher initial installation cost, the same level of easy maintenance can be achieved with a stronger, thicker and supposedly longer-lasting fibreglass lining. Unfortunately we have found that swimming pools refurbished with a fibreglass linings tend to give problems sooner than later due to the loose binding to the substrate and water seeping in between layers from the top edges causing bubbles, flexible areas and later causing cracking. My swimming pool looks beautiful, but after 4 years I noticed a white poder coming off the sides when i wipe my hand over the surface. what is causing this "Chalking" and can it be prevented? The natural ageing process of paints and epoxy paints subjected to UV radiation and submerged conditions is by a process called "chalking". Especially on darker colours that contain high volumes of colour pigment, this process of pigment particles being released from the top-layer of the paint as the epoxy layer thins-out over time, will be more noticeable. With dark colours a residue on the feet might be noticeable due to dry pigments being released. Due to this process, our epoxy coatings have a lifespan of 8-10 years under controlled conditions. After this time the coating will start to wear thin and will need to be refurbished with new top-coat layers. We recommend using white (our UV-treated) epoxy colour, or a light-blue, which is less prone to chalking. Another culprit that can accelerate the chalking process is over-dosage on salt-chlorinated pools. Always keep the to a minimum of salt dosage as an epoxy coat will reduce the accumulation of algae in the pool and less chlorine is needed to maintain the water clarity. An even greater enemy is Calcium Hardness levels. If you are experiencing accelerated chalking, have the water tested for calcium hardness. Do not add any of the popular recommended chemicals into the pool. Stick to the normal HTH chlorine, drifter packs and pool acid in recommended dosages. Two10Blue is also a tested product. Low-alkalinity should also be checked but only use HTH alkalinity up if you are experiencing low alkalinity.
CONTACT DETAILS Pool Solutions Swimming Pool Epoxy Paints Pretoria, South Africa Telephone:
083 227 6663 P.O.Box 74170
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