Well. I bought four cans of the Interlux BRIGHTSIDE Fire Red... and I did a quick shake test of the can to try to answer your question.

It sounds a little bit wetter than a unmixed can of Tremclad... the glub glub sound splashing around in the can was a splashier higher pitch.

My curiousity got the better of me and so I opened up a can after a minute of gentle rocking of the can to mix it.

Out of the can the paint is indeed slightly wetter than straight Tremclad.

Part of the reason that you are able to apply BRIGHTSIDE in its virgin state is that it was chemically designed to be able to be applied thinly to whatever you are painting. They make some specific reference to some polymer or chemical in the product that gives the paint the specific property to be painted thin and self level.

Ok... I have just done a 'test experiment' on my car...

Using my 4" high density roller I laid a test patch of the Brightside over

a) a wet sanded section of Tremclad... and

b) an unsanded section of Tremclad

RESULT : No compatibility problemms at all. It went on, adhered and self-leveled. No eating or wrinking of the Tremclad substrate.

I have only done some test areas for the purposes of this compatibility test and here are my observations :

a ) when you roll the BRIGHTSIDE with a 4" high density roller, you get a similar 'bubble' effect as Tremclad with the right mix of mineral spirit.

b ) in the first seconds that the paint is rolled on it looked kind of sueded. As per their recommendations you immediately take a 3 or 4 inch foam brush and pass it over the freshly rolled paint. LIKE FRIGGIN MAGIC ALL THE SUEDE or BUBBLES disappear and it leaves behind a GLOSSY surface.

c ) the color coverage appears to be about equal to the Tremclad. I was a little disappointed that the pigment wasn't a little thicker. So a primer might be a good idea if someone is starting with a multicolored body - just to provide a uniform base over which to paint.

d ) the paint rolls on smoothly and is thick enough that it adheres immediately and can easily be worked in both the horizontal and vertical without RUNS or dripping Yippee

At this moment I am thrilled. The result exceeds how things were progressing at 6 coats of Tremclad and the gloss and depth of the color with this one THIN pass of the roller is amazing. I could clearly see my reflection in the gloss.

The secret to working with this stuff is pretty much the same rules that we used with the Tremclad experiment. But I would say the sequence could be revised to :

a ) lay on a thin coat of the Brightside to one section or panel of the car at a time. That is pretty much the rule we have applied when doing the Tremclad.

b ) immediately go over that same area with a 3 or 4 inch foam BRUSH ( traveling in one uniform direction ) to magicly wipe away the bubbles/suede. This is something that was not necessary with the Tremclad - but with the Tremclad you needed to have the right mix of paint and mineral spirit to get the bubbles to self-disappear.

c ) let dry ( a minimum of 8 hours as per the Interlux instructions. Considering that one layer of Brightside is equal to two layers of Tremclad.... that works out to a reasonable waiting time.

d ) wet sand with a 1500 or 2000 ( because this puppy is going to self level and have a smooth glossy surface...

e ) repeat steps a to d until you reach a level of uniform color

f ) lay down one final coat with no wet sanding.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THE FINAL COATING : I have read on the Interlux site and on the various boaters boards that for the final coat YOU NEED TO LAY IT DOWN WHEN THE HUMIDITY IS VERY LOW AND THE TEMPERATURE IS COOL. This will MAXIMIZE the quality of the gloss on that final coating. This HELPFUL HINT may also be applicable to the Tremclad painters. So ideally the final coat should probably be laid down in the early morning of a non-humid day.

At this point I would guess you let it cure for a while to reach maximum hardness - and then we can look at polishing techniques to maximize the gloss ( although that final level of gloss may be better than most people would have expected.

I notice over at the Interlux web site they have created washes and waxes for the BRIGHTSIDE paint... so maybe we can get our hints for what to do from there or by scouring the boating message forums and learn from some nautical salts what they do..

marq