Putting Nano-Set to the Test: What Plasterers Are Seeing in the Field

New products enter the pool industry every year with impressive technical claims. Getting contractors to actually change the way they work is another matter entirely.

That is particularly true in pool plastering, where experienced applicators tend to know exactly how their preferred mixes behave, how quickly they set and what to expect once a newly finished pool begins its startup. Any additive introduced into that process ultimately has to prove itself in the hands of the people doing the work.

That appears to be where Nano-Set by Sabal Green Group is beginning to gain some traction.

A liquid colloidal silicate admixture, Nano-Set was developed for cementitious pool finishes, designed to help address common plaster issues such as pigment loss, plaster dust and permeability while reducing the pH fluctuations that can make new pool startups more difficult.

Those are meaningful claims in the plaster business. They’re also the kind that contractors ultimately have to prove for themselves on actual jobs.

Jason Evans of Pool Boy Plastering is one of the plasterers who has put Sabal Green’s claims to the test.

“I’ve been talking about this product in our various pool groups and to everybody that I do business with because it’s been a really good admixture that we’ve been adding to our mixes,” Evans said.

Evans didn’t go all-in immediately. Pool Boy Plastering initially tried Nano-Set on a few projects to see how it affected the material and, importantly, how his finishers responded to it.

“We were kind of cautious, but once we used it, the crew liked it, and that’s very important,” Evans said.

His finishers describe the plaster as a little “juicier,” with more cream available during finishing. For some newer mixes that tend to be drier, that added workability was a welcome change.

But what ultimately convinced Evans to begin using the product on every job wasn’t simply how the plaster behaved under the trowel.

It was what happened after his crews left.

Fewer Problems After the Pool Is Filled

Once a newly plastered pool fills, the curing surface and the water begin interacting. That’s when plaster dust, rising pH, staining, scaling and mottling can turn into callbacks for the contractor.

Evans had heard what Nano-Set was supposed to do. He wanted to see whether those claims held up once pools were completed and put through startup.

“When I first heard about it, you hear these claims, it helps with the pH on the startup, it strengthens the plaster. It prevents some issues that have always been there with cement products that are underwater,” Evans said. “And you hear these claims and, finally I tested it, and sure enough, we find there’s a lot less warranty calls.”

Mottling was one area where the difference stood out.

“We haven’t gotten one complaint or call in regards to mottling since using the product” Evans said. “Typically we would get a couple calls a year.”

Operating in South Florida, Evans said his company would occasionally encounter darker areas around main drains, swim-outs and other portions of a finish where moisture could become a factor.

“Knock on wood, we haven’t had any mottling issues at all,” he said. “That’s a thing of the past.”

Part of what Nano-Set is designed to address happens during the normal curing of cement. Calcium hydroxide is produced during that process, and some of it can migrate toward the plaster surface. That’s one contributor to the familiar dust that startup technicians brush from a newly finished pool and to the elevated pH they often contend with during startup.

The mixture reacts with calcium hydroxide to form calcium silicate within the cement matrix. For Evans, the chemistry becomes much easier to appreciate when the pool is filled and brushed for the first time.

“Typically when you fill a pool up, and you brush it, it gets dusty, right?” Evans said. “And that’s the calcium that you’re brushing off the pool plaster. And so that has basically stopped.”

That has changed the startup experience as well.

“It’s just an easier startup. Much fewer chemicals. It’s just easier to balance out your water, and that tends to result in less staining,” Evans said.

Traditionally, managing a new plaster startup can involve repeated acid additions as the pH climbs again between visits. Evans said he’s seeing considerably less of that.

“The amount of acid that they have to add to the water to bring the pH within the acceptable range is a lot less,” he said.

That matters during the first days and weeks when the new finish is especially sensitive to water chemistry.

“The less chemicals you can add, the better during the startup process,” Evans said.

What Changes for the Plaster Crew

Of course, none of those benefits would mean much to a plaster company if the additive made the material considerably more difficult to install.

There are some adjustments.

Evans said crews need to account for it in their water content. He prefers a relatively stiff mud mix and cuts the water accordingly to maintain the proper concentration.

The product also slows the set slightly. In South Florida’s summer heat, Evans said that can work in the crew’s favor, particularly on sunny walls that tend to tighten up quickly. During cooler months, his crews may change the application sequence and begin with shaded walls.

Once his finishers adjusted, Evans said they found the material quite workable.

“My finishers describe it as a little more juicier,” he said. “It seems to bring more cement cream available for the finishing, so it tends to work out to be a smoother, flatter surface using Nano-Set.”

Where Evans sees an even bigger advantage is during exposure.

Quartz and aggregate finishes have to be exposed carefully. If too much of the cement matrix is removed during water washing, rough or inconsistent areas can develop. Evans refers to those areas as washouts.

“The real gold for us is the exposure,” he said.

“The material really binds it all together,” Evans continued. “Washouts, that’s what we call overexposed areas, that’s a thing of the past, and that’s gold for us because whenever you have something like that, it always results in a minor variation in how the pool plaster looks.”

For Evans, eliminating those variations ultimately means fewer opportunities for a customer to find something they don’t like.

“The less variation you have, the higher your customer satisfaction is and life is a lot easier,” he said.

Nano-Set also isn’t tied to a particular aggregate or finish system.

“If it has Portland cement in it, you can use Nano-Set,” Evans said. “It doesn’t matter what aggregate, or if you have different type of pigments. It basically works with the cement and during the cement curing process.”

Evans specifically pointed to PebbleTec, Florida Stucco and Diamond Brite as examples of finishes his company encounters in the field.

That compatibility made it easier for Pool Boy Plastering to move from testing Nano-Set to incorporating it into everyday production.

When Fewer Callbacks Pay for the Product

Adding another material to every plaster job comes with a cost, and Evans initially considered treating Nano-Set as an additional line item. His company’s annual pricing had already been established when they began testing it, however, so Pool Boy Plastering decided to absorb the expense while they evaluated the results.

As the number of completed jobs grew, Evans began looking at the cost differently.

“We figured that we would just eat it, right? We said, let’s try out this product and it seemed to be working good,” he said. “And now we kind of found that with the reduced callbacks and with the easier fire-ups, it basically pays for itself.”

For a plaster company, a callback costs more than the drive back to the job. Someone has to inspect the finish, determine what’s happening, and often walk a builder or homeowner through how cement curing and water chemistry may be affecting its appearance.

“If you’re not getting dark areas in your quartz finishes or your color isn’t getting calcified over, you’re getting less phone calls as a plaster installer,” Evans said. “And that means that you’re able to run your business better.”

“The time I spend doing that is a fraction of what it used to be,” he added, “and this is something that honestly is helping me run my business better.”

Putting It to Work on a Showcase Pool

A recent project for Pool Crafters’ Rocky Miller gave Evans an opportunity to put that confidence to work on a much larger canvas.

The pool features a large lazy river surrounded by extensive natural and artificial rockwork. Pool Boy Plastering installed a PebbleTec Tropical Breeze finish with additional Shimmering Sea abalone shell.

Miller had spent considerable time choosing the finish and was concerned about maintaining the color he wanted without scaling eventually leaving it looking lighter. By then, Evans had already used Nano-Set on roughly 20 pools his company had completed for Miller.

“He did notice that the startups were easier, and he hadn’t got any calls on pool scaling,” Evans said.

That track record gave Miller more confidence in moving forward with his finish selection.

“He didn’t have to put in a super dark surface into his pool to enjoy the blue because it would be whitewashed out from scaling over,” Evans said. “Something like that, it helps, especially on a big project like this.”

The project also illustrates why Nano-Set is beginning to find a following among plasterers.

Technical data can convince a contractor to try a new product. What happens over a trial by fire determines whether it actually stays in the field.

For Evans, Nano-Set has successfully made the leap. What began as a cautious trial is now something he feels compelled to use on every job.

In a trade where experienced applicators can be reluctant to change a process they’ve spent years perfecting, that kind of adoption may say more about the product than anything else.

Ready to take a deeper dive?

Listen to our entire conversation with Jason Evans about Nano-Set on the Pool Magazine Podcast.