Glass Bead Pool Finishes in New Braunfels, TX
New Braunfels Quality Pool Resurfacing applies glass bead pool finishes in New Braunfels, Texas. A glass bead finish is a cement pool finish with glass beads mixed through it, alone or blended with pebbles. The beads are left showing at the surface for a smoother feel and more sparkle. The National Plasterers Council counts glass among the materials set into pebble finishes.
Call or use the form to price a glass bead finish for free. Before anything is booked, we'll talk through how smooth and how bright you want the surface, and how local hard water and the summer sun affect the work.
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Glass bead pool finish types and how they feel
Glass blended with pebble
PebbleTec's maker sells several blends of glass beads and natural stone. Its pebble-and-glass blend gives a smoother feel and extra sparkle in the water. Its smoothest finish of all is buff-polished and mixed with glass beads. Another maker pairs natural pebbles with artisan-made glass beads, sized to pack tightly, which it says makes the surface smoother and more comfortable.
Glass in polished cement
A third maker blends multi-colored polished glass into polymer-modified cement, meaning cement with added polymers, made for the inside of pools. Here the glass sits in a smooth cement surface rather than among stones.
Glass bead on its own
Beadcrete is a glass bead finish made since 1995 by Carden Industries, an Australian company. Its specification sheet describes a patented, factory-blended glass aggregate, left exposed, with a texture that's slip resistant but not coarse.
Want a smooth finish with no glass in it? Our quartz pool finishes page covers quartz, which the plastering council rates from smooth to textured. Where stone leads and glass plays a smaller part, see our pebble pool finishes page.
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(830) 302-4112
How a glass bead finish goes on
Preparing the shell for a glass bead finish
The work starts with the pool drained, and the city's drought plan permits that all year for only three reasons. New Braunfels Utilities can say whether a resurfacing qualifies, so ask before you pick a date.
Beadcrete's specification sheet asks for a renovated pool to be roughened mechanically and primed, and for a new shell to cure for at least 14 days. The finish then goes on in an even coat 8 to 10 mm thick. The same sheet says coverage under 8 mm voids the warranty. But the sheet is the Australian maker's document, so its warranty terms may not be the ones offered in the U.S.
Exposing the glass
PebbleTec's maker says glass finishes usually call for different exposure methods than its pebble finishes. Two of its finishes, the buff-polished glass blend and its smallest-pebble line, must stay evenly dry between application and the fill. That means no drips, spills or puddles, and a rinse-down after any rain.
Shade, summer heat and freezes
The Beadcrete sheet warns against working in direct sun: shade cloth or tarps help prevent cracks from fast drying or a sudden change in temperature. That matters here. Federal climate averages for 1991–2020 put the New Braunfels average high at 90.4°F in June and 89.3°F in September, with July and August hotter still.
Winter has its own limits. Finish makers leave freeze-thaw damage, such as cracking, the finish coming loose or lost aggregate, out of their warranties. The plastering industry's advice in a freeze is to keep at least 4 inches of water over steps, benches and ledges.
Nineteen miles west, where U.S. 281 crosses State Highway 46, New Braunfels Quality Pool Resurfacing applies glass bead pool finishes in Bulverde too.
Call or request a free estimate any time, 24/7.
(830) 302-4112Caring for a glass bead finish: start-up, scale and warranties
Glass bead finish start-up
Each glass line comes with its maker's own start-up rules, and the plastering industry says proprietary finishes should follow them. One glass bead maker says its finish needs no special start-up method. PebbleTec's maker calls a small loss of glass beads during start-up normal, and its warranty expects some glass and pebble to come away over the pool's life. The 28-day routine itself is on our pool start-up page.
Brushes and stains on a glass bead finish
Brushes matter on glass. PebbleTec's maker approves nylon, nylon-and-stainless or polypropylene brushes for its textured glass blends, but nylon alone for its two smoothest finishes.
Heat treatment is off the table. Some plaster stains are lifted with a torch, but a trade article hosted by the plastering council warns that glass bead surfaces can't safely be torched. Heated beads either loosen as they cool or burst into fragments.
Hard water and scale on glass
Glass isn't immune to hard water. Every surface that sits in pool water, glass included, can take on mineral scale, the plastering industry says. Scale shows as a white or pale film that dulls the finish color.
Local groundwater is high in calcium and magnesium, according to New Braunfels Utilities. In state records of its treated water, three entry points read 274, 285 and 292 mg/L of total hardness on April 2, 2025. One read 203 mg/L on January 14, 2026.
What the makers' warranties say
Glass bead finish warranties come from the makers, and each has conditions. PebbleTec's maker includes glass bead in the material it warrants for 5 years, for the first owner, covering material but not labor. A maker of a pebble-and-glass line offers 15 years on home pools and 7 on commercial ones. That holds only if the warranty is registered within 60 days and one of its certified installers did the work.
Another maker's 2017 catalog gives its polished-glass line a 10-year limited warranty. It asks for registration, with the bag's batch number, within 30 days. A claim needs water test results for 24 months in a row. These are the makers' terms, not ours.
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(830) 302-4112Glass bead finishes in spas and hot water
Glass bead isn't limited to pools. Beadcrete's specification rates its finish for spas, jacuzzis and hot-spring bath-houses, in water up to 55°C. That sheet is the Australian maker's, so raise the spa early when you choose a finish.
Spa water runs hot. For a public spa, the 2024 model pool code caps the water coming in at 40°C (104°F), well under that rating. Heat also tips water toward scale. In the plastering industry's water-balance table, the temperature factor is 0.6 at 76°F and 0.9 at 105°F, and a higher figure means more scale.
After a new finish, the heater has to wait. PebbleTec's maker says at least 14 days for its finishes, while the plastering industry's filling tips say 28, so follow the rule for the finish you choose. If a spa is part of the job, New Braunfels Quality Pool Resurfacing prices it with the pool in one free estimate.
Call or request a free estimate any time, 24/7.
(830) 302-4112
Glass bead pool finish questions
How much to glass bead a pool?
Few published prices cover glass bead. A 2026 national figure groups a glass bead brand with pebble brands: Pebble Tec, PebbleSheen and Beadcrete can cost about $9,000 to $13,000 to install. For a number on your own pool, ask New Braunfels Quality Pool Resurfacing for the free estimate.
What is glass beading finish?
In a pool finish, it means glass beads mixed into the cement coat and then exposed, so they show at the surface and catch the light. Some finishes use glass alone; others blend it with pebbles or with polished cement. The same words also turn up for glass bead blasting, where a blasting-media maker sprays glass beads at waterline tile to strip off calcium and scale. That's a cleaning job, not a new finish.
How long does a glass bead pool finish last?
No published figure covers glass bead finishes as a group. The plastering council's pebble category takes in finishes with glass, and it rates pebble at a 12 to 18 year surface. Polished finishes get 8 to 12. The makers' warranties on glass lines run from 5 to 15 years, but a warranty term isn't a lifespan. Balanced water does most to make any finish last, in the council's view.
Is a glass bead pool finish slippery?
It isn't meant to be. The specification for one glass bead line describes a texture that's slip resistant but not coarse, so skin scrapes are less likely. For public pools and spas, the 2024 model pool code requires surfaces people stand on to be slip resistant. It also says surfaces swimmers touch mustn't be an abrasion hazard in normal use.
Can a glass bead finish be used on a commercial pool?
Yes, if its color is light enough. Texas applies the 2021 model pool code to renovating commercial pools. For any pool other than a home pool, that code says the finish mustn't hide objects in the water. It must also rate at least 6.5 on the Munsell scale, where higher numbers are lighter. A dark blend may fall short, so ask for a color's rating before you choose it.
Plan a glass bead finish with a free estimate
New Braunfels Quality Pool Resurfacing takes calls and estimate requests 24/7 for glass bead finishes in New Braunfels and the towns nearby. Let us know roughly how big the pool is and what surface it has.