After the fairing compound .. before painting ..

Jasper Windvane · Post by **Jasper Windvane** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:53 am

I will be applying fairing epoxy to my deck repair. The West System 407. [the 410 says not to use if area gets hot .. like a deck in the sun]
Then sand..
Then?? Can I put my Prep Kote primer on the sanded out
407 filled/faired area, and then go with the Brightside?

dcstrng · Post by **dcstrng** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:17 am

I think so… I’m painting (Brightside) directly over faired/sanded 407 on the transom and seems to work well… that’s what the yard recommended – and so far I can’t see the patches at all… only time will tell… I tried to order the primer from them, but they’ve done several complete hulls over recent years with the Brightside (I’m using three coats, sanding with 220 in between) and seem to have good results, so with the primer you should be golden I’d think…

Figment · Post by **Figment** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:53 am

My decks and cabin are Brightside, and I'm not impressed. UV is a harsh mistress. I really should have repainted this year. 3 years seems too soon.

The "Perfection" on my jeep hardtop is looking great after two winters, though. That's my plan for the cabin.

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:45 am

dcstrng wrote:I’m painting (Brightside) directly over faired/sanded 407 on the transom …

When you say "directly" -- did you recoat with "neat" epoxy over the fairing compound? I'm thinking that either that, or primer, would be a good idea.

One thing to keep in mind -- and this depends on the yard, of course -- is that there can be times when a yard's method of doing something has evolved because of the pressure to complete projects in a timely manner (due to the cost of labor). As a result, although their recommended procedure will probably work, you might also get a better result by taking it a step further (overcoating the fairing compound, or priming), since a few extra hours for you, on your own boat, is presumably not a big deal if it will yield a better result.

Rachel

Post by **Tim** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:04 am

I will never again buy another can of Brightsides. Not only does it hold up poorly, it's unpleasant to apply.

It's so bad, in my opinion, that I've decided to throw (or give) away the mostly-full gallon of white that's been kicking around here for a couple years. I don't ever want to be tempted to dip my brush into it again for even the smallest job.

That's my opinion based on my experiences...others will vary. To each their own. Note that in general, I like Interlux paints a lot.

Jason K · Post by **Jason K** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:25 am

I will never again buy another can of Brightsides. Not only does it hold up poorly, it's unpleasant to apply.

I painted the Triton's decks with it and it had good initial gloss. I had the (unfortunately unpleasant) opportunity of seeing my old boat a couple months ago and the Brightsides had lost almost all of it's gloss. That's disappointing as it's been less than three years since I did the job.

To be honest, though, I did not find the application to be terribly challenging, though I have limited experience and probably just don't know how good it can get with a superior paint.

CharlieJ · Post by **CharlieJ** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:34 pm

I'll go along with Tim on this one also. I don't like Brightsides at all. I find it gives poor coverage, is hard to manage to get smooth coats and isn't at all durable.

I recently gave away an brand new unopened can of the stuff.

I've heard good things about TopLac, but I've not used that. I was using an industrial 2 part polyurethane ( same kinda stuff as Awlgrip, but reasonably priced) but the company closed due to the owners health. So I really don't know what I'd use now. I've also tried a two part Acrylic auto style paint, but I haven't worked with that long enough to know it's ins and outs. The first boat I painted with it went just beautifully- the second just would not work. I wound up painting with an enamel, just to get it finished.

Ronin120 · Post by **Ronin120** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:51 pm

Well, sounds like we can have a yard-sale. I too have an unopened can of Brightsides that I will be getting rid of.

I bought a can of it to spray the fiberglass interior liner (and posted my first question to the forum about it....) of our boat. I really dislike it. And I really dislike it after going out and getting another can. How stupid can I be?

Pretty apparently...

I did try and use the remainder from the open can a few weeks ago to paint some interior wood structures behind the distribution panel. Where no-one will see it...

Best.

Triton106 · Post by **Triton106** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:34 pm

Thanks a lot you guys... Where were these comments about Brightside before I bought three quarts from Defender? I scoured the internet and the only negative comments I did find (not that I read everything) is Tim's comments on NTA website (I think). Now what do I do? I guess I have to return them. I also ordered three quarts of Interlux Pre-Kote. Do I return those too? I guess I will have to since I won't be using Brightside anymore.

No one had good or acceptable experience? Please...

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:52 pm

I have a fair-to-middlin' review. Also, keep in mind that I'm not a very experienced painter.

Fair: I painted one of my first boats -- an aluminum runabout -- with Brightsides and I did not have good luck.

I followed the directions to the letter, starting with either bare metal, or well-adhered paint, then using all the solvents, the zinc chromate primer on the bare metal, the primer that went with Brightsides (forget what it was at that time), and then the topcoat. I just had a hard time getting it to the proper consistency.

Not too long afterward, areas of the Brightsides paint failed. Ironically (considering that aluminum is supposed to be hard to paint), the failure mode was the Brightsides paint peeling off of the Interlux primer (in other words, the Interlux primer did stick to the old paint and also to the zinc chromate primer.

Middlin': Last year I used Pre-Kote and Brightsides to paint a small fiberglass dinghy mast and it went okay. I only used it because it was handy and I already had the proprietary solvents, etc. If I hadn't had those on hand, I would have used Pettit Easypoxy, which is more-or-less the same thing but seems to apply better (according to more than one friend who had used both).

What I really should have done is tried brushing a two-part paint, such as Awlgrip or Interlux Perfection. I just chickened out and went with what I knew (and could get my hands on). Bad, bad me.

Rachel

Triton106 · Post by **Triton106** » Thu May 01, 2008 1:43 am

Rachel, you are not helping :-) I am looking for evidence of positive experience with Brightside! I can't say I am exactly encouraged by your experiences. I guess return I must if I hope to avoid repeating everyone else's mistake.

Post by **Tim** » Thu May 01, 2008 6:15 am

You know, it's not that it's that bad (even if it is). I don't want to overblow the issues. It's just that other paints can be so much better.

Maybe I ought to expand on why I don't like it, in order of annoyance (note that there's a tie for first place):

1. Flow: I find the paint to be dense and sticky when applying, even with appropriate reducer added to improve the flow; it just never seems to glide onto the surface the way so many other paints do. This is a poor characteristic compared to many other paints of similar nature.

1. Coverage: poor compared to other paints of similar nature

3. Gloss retention: very poor compared to just about anything

Triton106 wrote:...the only negative comments I did find (not that I read everything) is Tim's comments on NTA website..

Why wasn't that enough for you? ;<)

David VanDenburgh · Post by **David VanDenburgh** » Thu May 01, 2008 7:07 am

Triton106 wrote:No one had good or acceptable experience? Please...

One good, one bad.

I redid the nonskid with Brightside polyurethane, and I've been mostly pleased with the results. One complaint is that it seems to be fairly soft. There are a couple of tiny spots where something nicked the deck and the paint chipped.

I also redid the bootstripe with Brightside because it seemed like a match to the original. As others have said, it doesn't go on smoothly and required several coats for adequate coverage. The real annoyance is that even the slightest touch with a polishing cloth while cleaning the topsides smears the paint onto the white gel coat.

If I redo Ariel's nonskid, I'm going with Interdeck.

If I redo the bootstripe, I'll try some other paint - not sure which, yet.

David

Rachel · Post by **Rachel** » Thu May 01, 2008 7:22 am

Other than that, we all love it.

;)

R.

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Thu May 01, 2008 7:50 am

When I repainted the interior of my Renegade, I used Brightside-- with the flatner. The Renegade I had was an early one and did not have a liner anywhere except underneath the cabin top. I faired and filled all the surfaces with epoxy (lots of grinder marks all over from the factory), primed the surfaces and put on two coats of Brightside.

I was very happy with the results and thought it was actually quite easy to work with. I rolled and tipped the paint, using a very small roller. To be honest, I thought I would have a lot more trouble with it.

That said, I would not consider using it for decks etc., As others have pointed out, it doesn't last very long in the elements... that and the nature of decks are such that unless you have a really hard paint, you are gonna get scratches in thin paint.

Triton106 · Post by **Triton106** » Fri May 02, 2008 1:43 am

Tim wrote:

Triton106 wrote:
...the only negative comments I did find (not that I read everything) is Tim's comments on NTA website..
Why wasn't that enough for you? ;<)

Hmm... Ahh... Because... All right Tim, what do you want me to say? That I deserve what happend to me? :-) Ok, I admit I did not take your comment seriously because I thought either Brightside has improved since when you used (or why would Interlux continue to sell it) or you just had one off bad experience due to weather, etc...

Ok, I give up. Sound like Brideside could be a acceptable interior paint, deck non-skid paint, or bootstripe paint. So I have three quarts of flag blue Brightside that would not be good for any of these purposes, any offers? :-)

Summersdawn · Post by **Summersdawn** » Mon May 05, 2008 11:23 am

I painted my kitchen cabinets with brightsides - couldn't be happier with the finish. After 8 years, still smooth and glossy. The teflon in the paint means it is extremely easy to clean.

I also used it to paint out the insides of the compartments on my boat. This was about 13 years ago, and it is holding up well in most places. The exterior cabinsides and cockpit sides are really losing there gloss, and I had a few adhesion issues with the paint. I wished I had used something else on the exterior of my boat.

So, I would say it is fine in an interior, not so good on an exterior.