How To Make Your Pool Plaster Glow Like the Stars in the Sky....
What Size and Grade of Glow Stone Works Best?
There are (2) grade qualities: AGT™ Commercial Grade Glow Stones or AGT™ Ultra Grade Glow Stones. The ULTRA Grade glow stones are a little more pricey BUT have a 30% brighter and longer lasting glow effect than the Commercial Grade Glow Stones. Ultra Grade Glow Stones are available in (5) glow colors: Emerald Yellow, Sky Blue, Aqua Blue, Plasma Purple and Glacier White. The Emerald Yellow and Aqua Blue are the two brightest followed by Sky Blue and then Glacier White. Commercial Grade Glow Stones are available in (3) glow colors: Emerald Yellow, Aqua Blue and Sky Blue. For pool plaster applications we recommend a blend of 1/8" and 1/4" sized glow stones. If you are still unsure on the color and size you'd like for your pool project - please click this link and complete the form and we'll get an AGT™ Glow Stone sample out to you at no charge.
There are (2) techniques for applying AGT™ glow stones to create a glowing pool interior:
Technique - 1: Integral - Adding the glow stones into the actual batch mix. This approach ensures a uniform coverage on all pool interior surfaces BOTH the pool bottom and the interior pool walls. Pool plaster is usually applied between 1/4" - 1/2" in thickness which will allow the AGT™ glow stones to remain very close to the surface of the pool plaster. This will make it easy to expose them later on when the pool surface is completed and is cleaned and pressure-washed. * Please verify the thickness of pool plaster with your contractor prior to project.
Technique - 2: Broadcast - Seeding the glow stone on to the fresh pool plaster surface either by hand for a random galaxy effect OR by using an Aggregate Broadcast Tool which will create a more uniform coverage if that's the look you are going for. This technique is great for applying glow stones on horizontal/flat areas in the pool interior such as the bottom of the pool, sun decks, stairs, floating bar counters and/or stools.
How to expose the Glow Stones to light so they can charge:
In order to create a glowing pool effect, the glow stones need to be exposed to daylight in order to charge. Once the glow stones have been applied in the pool plaster by either of the application methods mentioned above and are in the process of curing - the decorative aggregates in the pool plaster as well as the AGT glow stones may be covered by a thin film of plaster.
This thin film is typically removed in one of the following ways:
- Rubbing the interior of the pool with 3M Scotch-Brite pads followed by a light pressure wash with water.
- Sweeping the interior of the pool with a broom and water followed a light pressure wash.
- Applying a diluted (light) acid wash with a broom followed by a pressure wash.
- Polishing the pool interior with pneumatic or propane powered polishing machines fitted with polishing pads.
Secret to the Best Glow... Darkness.
In general, glow stones hate competing light sources! They perform best in areas where house and landscape lights can be redirected, dimmed or turned off. Your everyday under-water halogen pool lights may be bright enough to even charge your AGT glow stones if left on long enough. Just remember to turn them off to see the glow.
For new pool builds, you could choose to add UV spectrum (black) lights to the pool interior in addition to decorative color-changing RGB LED lights. UV blacklights will actually CHARGE the underwater glow stones in a matter of seconds! If this is an option for you, we recommend that you have the UV Spectrum lights on a separate power switch so that they can be turned on and off at will.
But don't be alarmed... AGT™ Glow Stones do not require artificial light sources to charge, they have been engineered to fully self-charge underwater with only 30-60 minutes of natural daylight.
Magic!
