Fiberglass Pool Problems: Gelcoat Repairs

If you’ve owned a fiberglass pool for years, what are some problems you have faced with your pool? Fiberglass pools are a great product. What was the black sheep of the pool industry for years has now become the most popular trending pool among new pool owners. But, that doesn’t mean they are without a few problems.

Welcome back to our series on fiberglass pool problems. At Royal Pools G2 Landscaping, we install and service fiberglass pools all summer, and have become well versed in their problems. We have already talked about bulging walls and surface cracks, two common problems with fiberglass pools that can result from poor installation or manufacturing. The last one we’d like to talk about are gelcoat repairs. 

Gelcoat repairs may be required as a result of surface cracks or color fading. The good thing is, fiberglass pool repairs are pretty rare. If your pool is manufactured to the highest possible standards and professionally installed the right way, you can avoid repairs for at least 20 years. But gelcoat repairs are still possible, so let’s talk about them!

Problem 

Repairing fiberglass pool gelcoats as a homeowner is very difficult. It is impossible to recreate the conditions and processes used by fiberglass manufacturers in their factories to create the pool. 

Most fiberglass pools these days have a colored surface, called a gel coat, that serves as the top surface layer of the pool. These gel coats are either solid and single-layered or multi-layered. Regardless of the type of gelcoat your fiberglass pool has, recreating the original color and look may not yield the results you want. If your pool has a multi-layered gelcoat, it is going to be even harder to account for each individual layer, the sparkle flakes, etc.  

Solutions

We recommend focusing on two critical aspects to avoid difficult gelcoat repairs: selecting a fiberglass pool with a solid surface finish and ensuring any and all gelcoat repairs are conducted by highly trained, reputable professionals.

Solid surface gelcoat finishes involve a single-layer application, settling with a color and overall design that will be much easier to manually match should the gelcoat need repaired at some point. Matching colors during a gelcoat repair is much simpler if the pool has a solid surface gelcoat. A multi-layered gel coat cannot be replicated by you in your backyard.

If you need a repair to your fiberglass gel coat, it is best to first call the manufacturer. The manufacturer should be able to send out a team of fiberglass construction specialists to do the repair. If, for some reason, the manufacturer of your pool cannot send someone out to repair the gel coat, you will have to find a certified trained local contractor to complete it for you.

Conclusion

We would love to say that fiberglass pools are a perfect product, but that is simply not the case. While their problems are easily avoidable, that doesn’t mean the possibility is gone entirely. If you take anything away from these articles on fiberglass pool problems, it should be this: research as thoroughly as possible for reputable local pool installers and where they get their fiberglass pools from. Which fiberglass pool manufacturers should you be considering? Check out these articles below. For more educational content on all things pools and landscaping, head on over to our learning hub! Have a great day.

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