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I wrote to a guy who's been painting yachts now for ~30 years. He's had some experience w/ Brightside on his own yacht and car. This is what he wrote:

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used brightside and it lays well BUT i would not use it on a car as it is soft and stains easily and weathers badly.





Well so far the Brightside I applied has dried HARD and this is after about two weeks of finishing the project. Now... I notice that your friend prefers to the two part systems. The two part systems are normally sprayed and that may cause a thicker coating on the boat that is being sprayed... hence the thicker coat may lead to his feeling that it is softer ( compared to a two part paint system - which your friend likes more - which has a hardening catalyst in it ).

The two-part polyurathane can also be rolled .. but because it has that hardening catalyst your rolling time for the paint you mix is more limited and begins firming up in the roller tray the minute you mix the two parts. ie what you roll in the first minutes of a batch of mixed paint is going to roll on thinner than what you roll on after 30 minutes of using that batch of mixed paint or even say 45 minutes into using that batch. I believe the setting or working time with the mixed two-part is approximately 4 hours... ( but the hardening begins once the two parts are blended together.. )

But the short answer is that I have found the Brightside to dry hard.



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Brightside is designed to put a gloss on fiberglass for amateurs.





In a backward complimentary way he sort of confirmed the gloss factor and the ease of use being suitable for 'amateurs'...

But the statement is in error BECAUSE instructions are clearly provided on the paint can, the Interlux web site and in the pamphlets for Brightside that show ALL the different surfaces that Brightside can be applied to... fiberglass, gelcoat, wood, metal - including aluminum, plastics, body fillers, caulking, primers and some others that would require me to go get the can to finish the list of surfaces Brightside can be used on...



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I would recommend dupont CENTARI for a good one stage paint if you are not experienced. if you want to be cheap rustolium





I can't speak for the one part CENTARI other than to note that is the first time I have heard anyone ( including folks in the marine message boards ) mention that specific brand. But it is nice to see that he confirms the usage of Rustoleum for those who are 'cheap'



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I am a big belever in 2 part epoxy primers and a 2 part polyurithane topcot
for the best job."





I would agree with him on this one. The two part polyurathanes do produce a harder finish. Possible hard enough to CHIP when rocks bounce off it. But I believe that a one part polyurathane will reach the same level of 'hardness' when it reaches its maximum cured state. The two-part polyurathane has the hardening catalyst.. and so it simply reaches its point of maximum hardness sooner. But it also has a shorter working time when you are applying it and if you want to spray it you need to wear an oxygen tank because the fumes it gives off are hazardous to your health. Lastly... the two part paints cost two, three, four times or more than the one part paints....




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I've also heard Brightside in shades of white which are not exposed to sun will yellow. I believe this has been mentioned before. Any thoughts?





White in any paint has a tendency to acquire a yellow tinge with age. That is why most professional painters tend to add a spec of blue tint to their 'white' to permanently ward off the yellowing. This is especially true of CHEAP LATEX white paint. But that is also more relevant to 'old' paints from the 'old days' and the chemistry of modern paints have taken steps in the chemical composition of the paints and pigments (solids) to prevent yellowing. But even moderm CHEAPER BY THE GALLON type paints may suffer from not having anti-yellowing technology in them. Heck... even the polyurathane composition of the Brightside paint would help in sealing off the ability of oxygen to get beneath the outer skin of the paint job to discolor the pigment. And even further the solids or pigments are completely encapsulated and surrounded by the polyurathane which prevents oxygen from reaching them... And lastly... Brightside is a polyurathane... ( think of a liquid PLASTIC ). I would really like to know what type of staining substance can penetrate a solid plastic barrier. It just doesn't make sense.

The 'off white' colors are usually pre-dispositioned towards 'yellowing' in that they have a pigment that gives the initial 'off white' color. I don't think that would contribute to further 'yellowing' of that 'offwhite' color because these paints are engineered to hold their initial color without fade or discoloration for as long as it is chemically feasible. As we all know.. ALL paints eventually change color - and the real comparison of good paints and bad paints is 'how long is the paint engineered to hold its initial color. In this regard I think the Brightside and the Tremclad/Rustoleum are both engineered to 'hold their color' longer than many of the other paint products out there.

The only hint of a stain would occur where a substance with a contrasting color is able to enter the microscopic pores of the paint surface. But even there the staining substance can probably be encourage to detach itself from the pore with the right washing or cleansing. And in a worst case scenario the 'pore' could be removed with a wetsanding - since those pores only exist on the outer surface and do not act like passageways through the paint..

The Brightside paints for example do have special anti-UV ingredients to prevent fade or color changes from the ultra-violet rays of the sun.

But you mentioned that 'you had heard of yellowing in areas where there was no direct sun the whites were changing to yellow. My first thought is that it is obviously not a UV problem. Hmmmm... something not exposed to the sun.. like an inside cabin... would be affected by cigarette nicotine... that would yellow a white wall... or cooking in a galley would release things into the air that would yellow the walls inside the boat if they were enclosed and painted white. Just visit my mother's kitchen to see how cooking changes the colors of her kitchens walls etc.

I also remember hearing some comment regarding the ability of Brightside to withstand 'stains'. All I can say about that is that Brightside paint has a number of composites in it to defeat or repel stains. In particular the addition of 'Teflon' in the helps repel stains.

But let's face it... EVERYTHING is stainable. And I don't care if we are talking the most expensive multi-stage custom paint job with multi-ple layers of clear coat or the most expensive single stage paints ( whether rolled on or sprayed on ). It's all like talking about winter boots or wrist watches... where most will claim that they are 'water resistant' and folks assume that means they are 'water proof'. And yet we know in watches you only get 'water proof' in the most expensive brands of watches... and in winter boots ONLY a solid rubber boot can even be 'water proof'. There is no such thing in the world as a 'waterproof' leather boot.

So when talking about 'stains'... and car paint... ultimately the WAX you put on WHATEVER paint job will be the barrier that will prevent a stainable substance from reaching the paint. The porosity of the paint itself and even the porosity of the skin of the paint will also impact the degree to which it might be stainable without a wax barrier helping it out to make it 'stain resistant'.

The last words I will toss into this discussion about 'stains' are those that might occur FROM BENEATH the paint... where a substance below the paint leeches into the freshly applied paint. In a case where Brightside paint is applied to a wooden surface there is the possibility that the natural juices of the wood, which rise to the surface, might affect the paint from below. Even some unstable paints or primers... that are painted over might suffer from this type of 'staining' from below. There is not much you can do if the substrate is causing the staining from below.


Last edited by Marq; 08/01/06 05:04 PM.