How do I smooth a concrete pool surface after an acid wash?
Traditionally: Slap on a fresh coat of pool paint and let that provide the smooth surface.

(I grew up with a concrete-and-plaster pool. Our ad-hoc experience was that removing as much muck as possible from the bottom, shock-treating the heck out of it, starting the filter and getting the chemistry rebalanced seemed to be effective enough that we could skip the empty/acid-wash/refill cycle some years. I'd appreciate commentary from someone who understands the chemistry of the paint and plaster well enough to tell us just how unreasonable this was.)