I know our pool company said it's better, but as far as I can tell, they just add the 3M colored crystals to the mix. "This" is why it's better/stronger than plain plaster asI was told. Couldn't tell you if it'll last longer or not since it's brand new. I did expect a little more color uniformity though. Looking at the plaster from above, it looks more like a whispy cloud scene over the blue color. I have no clue if this is normal since I didn't check out other 3M pools. There are areas of dark blue and areas of whispy cloud white. We went with the Cayman Blue/Green blend. Ultimately, I love the color, but would have gone a bitt darker with the premium blend if I had to do it over again.