The First 28 Days After Pool Resurfacing: The NPC Start-Up Procedure for Homeowners

By Dan Kurtz · Published 2026-11-12 · Updated 2026-11-12

A gloved hand brushing the wall of a newly plastered pool while it fills from a cloth-wrapped hose

The month after pool resurfacing decides more about how the new finish looks in five years than the brand of finish does. The industry’s own standard for that month is the National Plasterers Council’s start-up procedure, a 28-day sequence that manufacturers and distributors reproduce for their installers. It covers how to fill the pool, how often to brush, how long to run the pump, which chemicals go in on which day, and what to keep out of the water until the period ends. This page walks a Florida homeowner through it, with the one sentence that explains why it exists: pool plaster starts hydrating the moment it is mixed, and “86% of the cement in the plaster will cure within the first 28 days.” The finish you paid for is still curing under the water you are swimming in.

Two framing notes before the steps. The NPC’s procedure applies to the whole cement-finish family: marble plaster, quartz, pebble, glass bead and blends. And the council’s own disclaimer says the procedures “are advisory and non-binding”; they are sound practice, not law. Your contractor may run a manufacturer’s variant. What should not vary is that someone is running one, and that you know where their part ends and yours begins.

Fill day

The procedure starts before the water does. The pool is filled “to the middle of the skimmer or specified water level without interruption,” because a fill that stops partway leaves a visible ring at the waterline where the finish cured at two different rates. In practice that means the hose does not get turned off for the night.

The hose itself can scar a fresh finish. The guidance is to wrap its end in a clean cloth or float it on a water bottle, and to place it in the deepest part of the pool so the water lands on water rather than on new plaster. People and pets stay out during the fill. As soon as the pool is full, the filtration system goes on.

Day 1: test, adjust, brush

The first day sets the chemistry. Test the fill water and write the numbers down; the written record matters later if anything goes wrong with the finish and the warranty conversation starts. Alkalinity is adjusted to about 80 ppm first, raised with baking soda or lowered with muriatic acid that has been diluted before it goes in, and then pH is brought to the 7.2 to 7.6 range. A sequestering agent can be added to guard against metal staining.

Then the brushing starts: the entire surface, twice a day, from the top of the walls down and from the shallow end to the deep end. Brushing moves the fine plaster dust that a new finish sheds into the water so the filter can take it, rather than letting it settle and bond to the surface. The pump runs without stopping; the procedure says to “Operate filtration system continuously for a minimum of 72 hours.” No chlorine goes in for the first 48 hours, and the heater stays off until the pool is free of plaster dust.

Day 2 and day 3

Day 2 repeats the tests and adjustments. Once alkalinity is around 70 ppm and pH is holding in range, calcium hardness is raised to at least 150 ppm. Brushing continues at least twice a day.

On day 3, chlorine can be introduced, pre-diluted, to reach 1.5 to 3 ppm. And one rule that surprises owners of saltwater pools: “No Salt should be added for 28 days.” A salt system on a freshly finished pool stays off until the period is over, and the pool runs on added chlorine in the meantime.

Days 4 through 28

The daily testing and adjusting continues through at least day 14. Calcium is raised slowly across the period; the procedure’s wording is that “calcium levels should be adjusted slowly over the 28-day period not to exceed 200 ppm.” Cyanuric acid, the stabilizer, is set to 30 to 50 ppm depending on the primary sanitizer. One sourced caution for colored finishes: the industry start-up guidance warns that concentrated cyanuric acid can discolor pigmented finishes, which is why stabilizer goes in carefully, and diluted, on a colored pool.

Around day 7 any remaining dust is removed with a brush-type pool vacuum, not a wheeled one. The heater can usually come on once the dust is gone, which the procedure places somewhere between days 4 and 10 depending on the pool.

What stays out of the pool until day 28

This is the part of the procedure most often broken by well-meaning owners, so it deserves its own list.

Salt. None for 28 days.
Wheeled devices and automatic cleaners. No wheeled cleaners, no built-in or robotic cleaners, until the 28 days are complete. Wheels can leave lines in a finish that is still curing.
Chemical feeders. None other than ORP and pH controllers during the period.
Shock. Do not shock the pool for the first 30 days.
Swimmers. Not until the water is balanced.
The heater, until the plaster dust is gone.

After day 28 the procedure hands the pool over to ordinary care with one target: keep the Langelier Saturation Index between 0.0 and +0.3. The industry describes the weeks after that as a secondary phase of the cure, with testing twice a week. The finish is not fully done at day 28; it is done enough to be treated like a pool.

The handoff: settle it before the crew leaves

Every start-up fails at the same place, the gap between the contractor’s last visit and the owner’s first test. The Florida Swimming Pool Association’s licensing page makes one related point worth knowing: no state license is needed to clean a residential pool, so the weekly service company that takes over may be a different business from the licensed contractor who applied the finish. That is normal. What it means is that three parties may touch the pool in its first month, and the procedure has to survive the handoffs.

Get these answers in writing before the fill:

Which days the contractor runs the start-up, and which day it becomes yours or your service company’s.
Whether the contractor follows the NPC procedure or a manufacturer’s variant, and a copy of whichever it is.
Who fills the pool and who watches the fill so it is not interrupted.
Where the daily test results are recorded, and who keeps the record.
Whether your service company has read the procedure, and that it knows the no-salt, no-wheels, no-shock rules.
Who to call if the water clouds, the surface streaks, or the finish feels rough, and how fast they come. The industry’s advice is to raise discoloration, streaking or roughness early, while the start-up record is still clear.

Why pool resurfacing start-up is on a directory

Pool Resurfacing Florida lists the state’s pool companies with their ratings and the services their own sites and reviews describe. It does not inspect finishes or supervise start-ups. The procedure above is public, it comes from the trade body that sets the standard, and the one thing a homeowner can control in the first month is whether it gets followed. Ask the companies you call how they run it. The ones who answer in detail are telling you something about how they do everything else.

Frequently asked questions

How long after resurfacing can I swim? The procedure says not until the water is balanced, and it keeps shock out for 30 days. Ask the contractor for the day they consider the pool ready for swimmers on your specific finish.

Can I turn on my salt system right away? No. The NPC procedure says no salt for 28 days. Run on added chlorine until then.

Why can’t I use my robotic cleaner? Wheeled and automatic cleaners stay out until the 28 days are complete; wheels can mark a curing finish. Brush instead, and use a brush-type vacuum for dust.

What is plaster dust and is it a defect? It is fine material a new cement finish sheds into the water in the first days. Brushing and continuous filtration remove it; a brush vacuum takes what is left around day 7. It is expected, not a defect.

My pool is pebble, not plaster. Does this apply? Yes. The procedure covers marble plaster, quartz, pebble, glass bead and blends; they are all cement-based finishes.

What if the contractor says they do not do a start-up? Then you or your service company will be doing it from fill day, and you should know that before you sign. The council’s procedure is advisory, so nobody is required to follow it, which is exactly why you should ask.

Where to go next

Find the pool companies near you on the city pages linked below, and ask each one who runs the first 28 days. The companion pages on this site cover the finish types themselves and how to check a Florida pool contractor’s license.