Painting with Interlux Brightside

Tim R. · Jul 27, 2009

I used Brightsides for my 1955 Rhodes 18 restoration a couple of years ago. It went on fairly easily after a long time prepping. It looked good but it did not hold up very well. Perfection(I used on my Ericson 35 spars) is much tougher and in hindsight should have used that on the Rhodes.

Ed Schenck · Jul 27, 2009

Brightside worked well for me on my centerboarder. It is sitting there pounding against the fenders and I see no hint of wear. I also did the decks and the white portion that is not non-skid looks good. That is one experience.

My earlier experience was on the cabin trunk of my H37C. I just could not seem to get the sprayed on look. So I sanded some more and went to the next best one-part Interlux at the time, Toplac. It went on much easier and still looks good after five years. I think it has been replaced, maybe with Perfection. If you have a partner to assist with the roll and tip then two-part is the way to go.

Douglast · Jul 27, 2009

i used Brightside for my stripes...the lower just above waterline...the upper at fender level...i like it...and touches up well if needed...but its pretty tough stuff...the rest of the boat i used Interlux 2 part epoxy paint

emergpa1 · Jul 27, 2009

Paul,
I repaired some deck, and had to redo the surface with epoxy. So I had to paint with the brightside over the epoxy. The tech ( and info sheet) had my use barrier kote two part primer over the epoxy, then i could use bright side. I followed the instructions carefully, but to make a long story short, had to grind off the first try, reapply again. I got better adhesion the second time, but it still is not very hard and seems to scratch easily. I decided after this experience that i would try to avoid painting my entire boat, and instead try to make the gelcoat look as good as possible.
But a lot of people seem to be happy with it. I will say that I did not have trouble getting a smooth finish. It just doesn't seem very durable. Just my limited experience. But it was pretty frustrating and so I feel compelled to share it.
Best wishes
keith

John Nantz · Jul 27, 2009

Got brush strokes

Tried to get it perfect. Got all the on-line data sheets from Interlux and talked to the local Seattle factory rep as well as the knowledgeable salesman at the store where I bought it. End result: I wasn't happy. It didn't smooth out like I wanted.

If I had to do it over again I'd try something else like perhaps a two-part system. I thought I did everything possible to get good flow but it ended up close, as in "close but no cigar."

Idea: maybe have a sample area not on your your project, something similar but a test bed. Maybe a sheet of plywood???

48dodge · Jul 28, 2009

I'm in the middle of painting my boat with Brightsides. It definitely takes some practice and make sure the hull is cool. I'm painting my topsides with dark blue. The first coat I had to almost completely sand off because it didn't lay out right. It was thinned out to the max but because the hull was hot it never settled after tipping. Also, I changed my tipping technique on the next coat. My second coat looks really good, and I think by the third coat, I'll have it just right. It is really rock hard unless you put it on too thick. Feels like freshly waxed automotive paint

Tim R. · Jul 28, 2009

Some more info.

- Generally speaking, painting single part over multipart should be fine(if prepped properly). Multipart over single will not work. The chemicals in the multipart part attack the single part and will not adhere.

- Thinning. Test your paint on a pane of glass until it flows out well and does not run or sag. Add small amounts of thinner until you achieve this balance.

- Environment. Temperature and humidity affect the flow out of the paint. If you get the paint thinned properly and then the environment changes, you will have problems. Also, if the dew comes in that night you will lose all gloss.

Again, Perfection is much harder then Brightsides. I have used both and see how they hold up to abuse. Perfection will also hold up longer. I also believe that you can achieve better looking results using Perfection. Although all the painting I have done has been in a closed space with consistent temp and humidity.

Chuckbear · Jul 28, 2009

PaulH said:
Hey folks...this upcoming weeked, I will be starting the re-fit of my Lancer 28T. The first thing I will be doing is painting topsides and deck. I was wondering if anyone has painted their boats with brightside, and what the results were like. Also, I was wondering if anyone had an idea of how long I should wait before re-launching. I called the Interlux Tech. Help line, but got 3 different answers from 3 different people. I would like it if I coould get some "real world" advice.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Paul.

Paul, If you have not already used the paint and feel fine using Brightside, you might check out Gliddens Deck Enamels bought at any Home Depot. It is pretty much the exact same paint for a fraction of the cost and it can be tinted to any color. We have used both it and Brightside on the exterior of boats in the past and we get about 3 years out of both with heavy use before it needs repainting. Chuck

BobM · Jul 28, 2009

From what I recall the gelcoat on my L25 was pretty good. Have you tried wet sanding it and buffing it out?

Snotter · Jul 28, 2009

This threat is reminding me why I hate Brightside paint.

Painting with Interlux Brightside

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