Clean vs. Replace Waterline Tile?

I am in the process of refinishing an old pool with Ultraguard (will post photos and review when complete!). I was not planning to replace the waterline tiles, but they are dirty and I can not seem to get the gunk off - it is hard, grey, and can be slowly chipped off with a razor blade, but I am not going to spend weeks doing it.

Any suggestions for a miraculous method to clean the tile? It's already been brushed with TSP, partially rinsed with acid, and we tried Lime Away.

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Originally Posted by windfix

I am in the process of refinishing an old pool with Ultraguard (will post photos and review when complete!). I was not planning to replace the waterline tiles, but they are dirty and I can not seem to get the gunk off - it is hard, grey, and can be slowly chipped off with a razor blade, but I am not going to spend weeks doing it.

Any suggestions for a miraculous method to clean the tile? It's already been brushed with TSP, partially rinsed with acid, and we tried Lime Away.

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Here is a thread that might help you. The poster was trying to get rid of a white stain at the water line, but his method might be useful in your case as well.

Cleaning the waterline tile


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Site owner
www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks for that link, I will try the guy's idea about the rust/paint stripper - I think I actually have one already.

The paint stripper attachment, while probably not nice to the finish of my tile, did remove the hardened stuff. It took about 10 hours and I went through 3 of these things, but it worked. Thanks!